Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State.
It was learnt that the abduction occurred on Tuesday near Government Primary School, Oruk Ata II in Ukanafun Local Government Area on the Ukanfun-Azumini
Expressway when the victim, Otobong Ukpong, was on his way to the office. A brother of the victim, Mbetobong Sylvester Ukpong, said, “My brother was kidnapped at Uruk Ata II in the morning hours of Tuesday, June 5, on his way to work at INEC office in Ukanafun.
“Uruk Ata II is a volatile area where militants had laid siege, kidnapped four church elders, burnt houses and even killed about four people recently.”
He said his brother who is the last child of the family, from Iwukem village in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of the state, was on his way to participate in the ongoing distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).
Mbetobong said the abductors who had already made contact with the family were demanding a ransom of N10m. He said the family could not afford the amount.
“They contacted the family through my brother’s phone number. That was when they disclosed the ransom to be paid before they would release him. But the elders of the family have met and we have told them that such demand is outrageous for a largely peasant family to pay,” he said.
The state’s police spokesman, DSP Odiko Macdon, confirmed the kidnap, saying, “We have got the report, so I can confirm it. But police are already on top of the situation. We are doing something drastic to rescue him.”
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