Ernest
Chinwo in Port Harcourt
As
concerns mount over the fate of kidnapped Vanguard columnist, Donu Kogbara, the
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and the police in the state have said they
have intensified efforts to secure her release.
Kogbara
was abducted by yet-to-identified gunmen in front of her house in Nkpogu, Port
Harcourt in the early hours of Sunday, August 30.
Fielding
questions on her abduction, Wike said it was sad that people would still engage
in such dastardly act.
He
called on residents to work with the government and security agencies to put an
end to incidents of kidnapping in the state.
He
also expressed concern over the frequent change of commissioners of police in
the state, noting that it was affecting effective security plans and
strategies.
The
governor recalled that Kogbara was kidnapped on the same day the former
Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, was transferred.
He
said the transfer was a setback to security arrangements in the state, as the
new commissioner would need time to get his act together.
“We
are working with security agencies. Everything will be done to secure her
release. It is not just because she is a journalist; generally, we should not
allow this to happen.
“This
thing happened the night they changed the former commissioner of police. For
the new commissioner of police to reorganise himself, you can imagine what this
would entail.
“These
things set us back. But security men are working. The former commissioner of
police had his security strategy. This new one will begin all over again,” he
said.
Also
addressing journalists yesterday at the police headquarters, Moscow Road, Port
Harcourt, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Musa Kimo, said he was more
worried than even media practitioners to secure the release of Kogbara.
He
said while he could not disclose details of effort so far made by his command
to secure her release, he expressed hope that she would soon regain her
freedom.
“Let
me assure you (the media) and the family that we are doing all that is possible
to rescue and reunite her with her family. We are more worried than you on this
issue.
“But
we will not disclose details of our operations to the media,” he said.
Meanwhile,
Niger Delta activist, Ms. Annkio Briggs, has also condemned the abduction,
appealing to the kidnappers to release her unconditionally.
She
said it was worrisome that kidnapping was still rampant in the state and the
region.
Briggs
urged the kidnappers to see Kogbara as a sister, a mother and asked them to
release her unconditionally.
“I
appeal for her release. For me I am against any type of activities that take
away the rights of anybody which include kidnapping. Kidnapping is a criminal
act, it dehumanises a person, no matter the reason.
“This
is why I continue to appeal to those behind her kidnapping to release her. They
should put themselves in her place: what if she was their mother or sister?
“What
I am saying is that kidnapping is wrong. They should release her without any
condition whatsoever,” she appealed.
Chairman
of the Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Ayo
Tamuno, also condemned the abduction.
In
a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, he pleaded with security
operatives to step up their operations in the state for the protection of lives
and property.
He
also appealed to those behind the abduction to release her unconditionally.
Efforts
to reach members of her family were not successful. When THISDAY tried to
contact the family through one Chukwudi Njoku, said to be close to the family,
he said: “We are in a family meeting. We cannot entertain journalists now. We
will call you back if need be.”
Culled
from www.thisdaylive.com
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