A director of the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Sir Aribibia Fubara, abducted by gunmen on August 26, 2024, has been released by his abductors.
Fubara, who was kidnapped by six armed men around the Marine Base area of Port Harcourt, the state capital regained his freedom after spending about two weeks with his captors
The gunmen had shot indiscriminately into the air to scare people away, before whisking Fubara, a Knight of Saint Christopher, in the Anglican Communion into their waiting boat, and zoomed off
Commenting on his release, a family source said the kidnappers dropped him off at midnight of last Thursday in one of the Islands near Bonny in Bonny local government area of Rivers State , but he reunited with his family on Friday.
The family source who pleaded anonymity claimed that N15 million was paid as ransom to secure the release of Fubara from his abductors after days of back and forth negotiations.
The source went on to say that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N40m, but they pleaded "until it was later brought down to N15 million, which was paid eventually before he was let off".
Also, 10 boat passengers who were abducted by suspected pirates while travelling from Bonny Island to Port Harcourt on September 2 , have been freed.
It was gathered that the pirates abandoned all 10 passengers in a creek at the Bonny channel following serious pressure mounted by security operatives.
Spokesperson of the state Police Command, Grace Iringe - Koko, who confirmed the release of Fubara and the travellers, said: “We are still on the trail of the kidnappers to ensure they are apprehended and prosecuted.”
For the travellers, she said: “ Yes, all 10 of them have been released. The police and sister security agencies have been on a manhunt for the kidnappers, and they could not bear it, and they had to release them . ”
The chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Rivers Commercial District, Israel Pepple, had called on the government and relevant security agencies to beef up security along the waterways to prevent incessant attacks on the sea.
