A former permanent secretary, Ignatius Brown, was abducted by gunmen at his residence in Akwa Ibom State’s Abak Local Government Area.
According to reports, Brown, the chairman of the Saint John’s Catholic Church Council in Abak, was abducted yesterday as he was returning home after a church meeting a short distance from his house.
According to an eyewitness Aniefiok Marcus, who spoke to journalists in Uyo today, the hoodlums followed the retired permanent secretary from the church along the Abak-Ikot Ekpene road, and they also overtook the retired permanent secretary’s driver.
Marcus revealed that the PS, who is an Etinan Local Government Area native, had spent a considerable amount of time in Abak.
He said, “They (the hoodlums) trailed him from the Saint John’s Catholic Cathedral along Abak-Ikot Ekpene road, and overpowered the driver close to the house on Udokpo Street, after shooting sporadically to scare away other vehicles and commuters on the road.
“When they (the kidnappers) succeeded in halting the Toyota RAV4 SUV of Sir Brown, they bundled the driver out, hijacked the vehicle and sped away with him lying down on the floor,” he stated.
The car was eventually found abandoned along the Abak-Ekparakwa route, he continued, after the kidnappers had fled with the victim to an unidentified location.
Odiko Macdon, the state police public relations officer, verified the occurrence and stated that one suspect had been taken into custody and was assisting the command in finding further gang members.
“We have received that report already and as we speak, preliminary investigation is ongoing. The Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durusinmi, has detailed the Officer-in-Charge of kidnapping and other tactical teams to ensure that the victim is successfully rescued and reunited with his family.
“Based on the CP’s instructions, a lot had already been done. We have one person in our custody who is helping us with the necessary information, and I believe that the kidnapped victim will soon regain his freedom,” he said.
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