By Austin Ogwuda
BARELY four months after the release of the immediate past Commissioner for Technical Education and former House of Representatives Member, Hon. Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor, a.k.a ‘Ada Anioma’ from kidnappers’ den, Police are yet to give updates regarding the number of arrests and further updates.
She was abducted from her church, King Jesus & I Church in Asaba, Delta, Nigeria, where she is the General Overseer on the 30th of July this year and later released in Bayelsa State after spending ten days in captivity.
Apart from this terse press release from the Delta State Police Command’s spokesman, Bright Edafe the Commissioner of Police in the State, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda went further to grant an exclusive interview with The Guardian Correspondent in Asaba, promising to give further details.
Edafe had said in a text message, “Police PRO, SP Bright Edafe, has just officially confirmed Rt. Hon. Joan Onyemaechi (Ada-Anioma) has been released by her abductors”.
While his boss, the State Police Commissioner, Mr. Olufemi Abaniwonda in that interview with The Guardian newspaper, said, “she was released by her abductors because there was too much pressure from the security personnel and aside the pressure, the identities of Ada Anioma’s abductors and their location were also known; and based on that they (abductors) didn’t have any option than to hands up and release their victim”.
On the number of arrests made in connection with the kidnap, the CP said, “I will not give you figure not to jeopardize the ongoing investigations, but we have a number of people in our custody. At the appropriate time we will give you the number, their identify and the level of their involvement”.
On why Onyemaechi kidnappers escaped with their victim with ease and unchallenged, the Delta Police chief said, “we have wrong information and our assessment was that they will follow the usual way to the bush but they carried out their operations in a hurry, then, left through the waterside and burned their vehicle.
“When you have these kind of breaches, what is important is the way you respond, the way you are able to bring the perpetrators to book.
“Yes, it was well planned. They have a get away vehicle waiting, get away boat waiting and they know the location of the security and did everything to avoid the security points within the State.
“We have beefed up security, locked down Asaba capital territory to ensure that such doesn’t happen again”, said the CP.
The CP’s assurance of providing updates on the matter came in August, about four months ago without fulfilment till date.
The question is: when will the Delta State Police Command unveil the outcome of their investigation to the public?
