Gunmen kidnap A/Ibom LG boss’s dad

Gunmen have kidnapped Elder Wilson Eduo, the octogenarian father of Honourable Udeme Eduo, the current Chairman of Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

It was learnt that four masked men driving a Toyota car stormed Elder Eduo’s country home in Udianga Enem village at about 7:30p.m. on Wednesday, March 16, and abducted him.

According to one of his sons, Otobong, “those people cannot take care of my father, who is a retired teacher, because he is on medication due to a protracted illnesss.

“When they (the kidnappers) seized him, he told them to please leave him because of his condition, but they refused and whisked him away,” the son said, wondering what they wanted to do with a sick old man with life-threatening ailment.

Otobong lamented that his father was permanently in the care of his mother because of the ailment.

“Because of his failing health, my mother could not do anything again than to stay by him,” he said.

It was gathered that the motive of the kidnappers could not be ascertained because as at the time of filing this report, no contact had been established with the family on the payment of ransom.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Donald Awunah, who confirmed the incident, said men of the Anti-Kidnapping and Robbery Squad (SARS) and other operatives of the force had since been deployed to comb the area for the suspects.

He said the police would stop at nothing to get at the kidnappers and rescue the man unharmed, even as he solicited the cooperation of members of the public with useful information on how to track down the suspects.

The police boss informed that no arrest had been made, saying investigation would be aided when the kidnappers open contact with the victim’s family.

“When I spoke to the chairman, he told me the kidnappers were yet to contact the family for ransom,” the police boss said.