By INIOBONG EKPONTA, Uyo

After more than one month in kidnappers’ den, the immediate past Senator representing Eket Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom South), Chief Nelson Effiong, has been left off the hook of his abductors, the Police confirmed at the weekend.

Effiong, former Speaker of the State House of Assembly for Oron\Udung Ukoduring the era of Obong Victor Attah, as governor, was seized in his exquisite sit-out along Oron road by armed gunmen, on September 6, 2021.

The kidnappers, who whisked him away after spontaneous gunshots at the pub, had demanded N200million, but the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Superintendent Odiko Macdon, who disclosed this at the state headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia, near Uyo, the state capital, could not ascertain whether any ransom was paid to effect his release.

“I am not aware whether any ransom was paid, but I can tell you that Senator Effiong had been released”, he said.

According to Macdon, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Amiengheme Andrew, has zero tolerance for crimes in Akwa Ibom, assuring that operatives of the force across all departments and units have been mobilized to contain criminal elements including the waterways of Oron and Mbo Local Government Areas recently under siege of sea pirates.

“If you check, despite these isolated cases, Akwa Ibom still remains one of the safest in the country”, he stressed, adding that more security personnel have been drafted to contain the sea criminals terrorizing fishermen and travellers on the Ibaka waterways stretching into the Gulf of Guinea region.

Effiong, family sources say, had been isolated in an undisclosed hospital “for proper medical examination in view of the long period he spent under the captivity of the criminals”, adding that the huge ransom demanded by his abductors contributed to his long stay in their hideout. (Sunday Tribune)

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