By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
Barely three weeks after the Bayelsa Police Command freed a six year old kidnap victim, the command on Thursday said it foiled another incident and freed two persons kidnapped on Wednesday.
The kidnappers met a resistance when policemen responding to a distress call accosted them while attempting to put their captives into a waiting speedboat. They fled, leaving their hostages.
SP Asinim Butswat, spokesman to Bayelsa command, who confirmed the incident on Thursday, said the command was on the trail of the fleeing kidnappers.
“Operatives of Operation Puff Adder, Bayelsa State Command, have rescued one Mrs Vivian Obinna and one Ogregade Ileimokumo (m), residents of Imiringi Community, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
“The victims were kidnapped on 29 January 2020, at about 2000 hours, when the kidnappers forcefully gained entrance to the residence of Mr Obinna Okoye at Imiringi,” he said.
According to the Police spokesperson, “the hoodlums kidnapped Okoye’s wife, Mrs Vivian Okoye, and a neighbor, one Ogregade Ileimokumo, who tried to prevent the kidnappers.
“Policemen were alerted and operatives of Operation Puff Adder intercepted the kidnappers at Otuokpoti Waterside, where the kidnappers were trying to move the kidnapped victims into a waiting speedboat.
“The kidnapped victims were rescued, while the suspects escaped with bullets wounds.
“The command has launched manhunt to arrest the fleeing kidnappers,” Butswat said.
It will be recalled that the command on January 8 confirmed the rescue of six year old son of Mr. Nengi Talbot, the commissioner for Water Resources who was kidnapped in December 2019.
The six year old boy was kidnapped on December 22, 2019 at his parent’s residence at the Opolo area of Yenagoa.
He was set free at Ikebiri in Southern Ijaw Local
Government Area of Bayelsa.
It was learnt that the rescue operation by men of Operation Puff Adder was led
by Chris Nwaogbo, a DSP, after weeks of painstaking intelligence gathering.