The Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last general elections in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has pleaded for the release of the abducted wife of the deputy managing director of the Sun Newspapers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Mrs. Toyin Nwosu, wife of Mr. Steve Nwosu was abducted at her home in Ago-Okota, near Lagos on September 14

Her abductors demanded a ransom of N100 million.

Agbaje in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos, signed by his Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Felix Oboagwina, told the police to leave no stone unturned in the search for Nwosu.

“I urge the Police to leave no stone unturned in the search for the abducted lady and I pray for a swift and happy ending to the travail of Nwosu and her family.”

According to him, Nwosu’s abduction is an error and an exercise in futility.

Agbaje decried the increasing spate of abductions in Lagos in recent times.

He noted that the abduction came from the erroneous belief by misinformed criminals that the visibility of journalists translated to prosperity for media workers.

“In the society, journalism is a powerful profession and practitioners are rendering significant service of information management.

“But to suppose that this transmits the average journalist into a wealthy person comes from warped imagination.

“And then, to submit them and their families to this nightmare of kidnapping for ransom is most uncharitable to a group of professionals who toil day and night to make the society a better place.”

He described the development as a terrorist act, designed to infringe on the freedom of the press and freedom of information.

Agbaje warned that abduction should not be a new hazard for journalists and their families.

The politician described the trend as worrisome, recalling that a columnist with the Vanguard Newspapers, Mrs. Donu Kogbara, was only released at the weekend after being kidnapped for two weeks in Port Harcourt, Rivers.

He noted that journalists had been at the forefront for the quest for a just, equitable and developed society, regretting that to repay them this way was to say the least, most uncharitable.

Agbaje called on government to make kidnapping less attractive by providing employment for youths and applying necessary sanctions on apprehended criminals and their collaborators.

He urged the media to refuse to be intimidated, adding that the unhealthy trend would soon dissipate when perpetrators realised they were not dealing with ‘money bags.’ (NAN)

•Photo shows Mr. Jimi Agbaje

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