Nigeria - Nollywood Actress Nkiru Sylvanus Paid N 8 Million To Kidnappers To Regain Freedom
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Baba Adisa Bolanta, yesterday disclosed that the abducted Nollywood actress and Special Assistant to t...
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The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Baba Adisa Bolanta, yesterday disclosed that the abducted Nollywood actress and Special Assistant to the state governor on Public Affairs, Miss Nkiruka Sylvanus, paid N8 million as ransom to her kidnappers to regain her freedom.
The commissioner, who addressed newsmen in the Command’s Headquarters in Owerri, the Imo state capital, said the family of the actress defied the repeated warning from the police not to negotiate or pay any ransom to the abductors, adding that they did so outside the knowledge of the police.
The police boss added that “initially, the family paid N7million to the kidnappers and the police who laid ambush swooped on them at the point of collection and recovered the money that was locked in the trunk of their car as they escaped. We brought a lot of pressure on them and they were jittery and could no longer contact the family members”.
According to him, “after we returned the money to the family, they went behind us and paid N8milliom to the kidnappers. Surprisingly I saw Nkiru in my office after she was released, and I was told they paid N8million to secure her release”.
Bolanta, however, said that the fleeing kidnappers would be brought to book. “Let me assure you that this will not go unresolved like previous cases. Anyone involved will be brought to book. We have made some arrests, and very soon the ones that are at large will be apprehended”.
Meanwhile, Governor Rochas Okorocha has ordered the release of N500 million as a Christmas package for security operatives in the state.
Okorocha, who gave the directive during an expanded Security Council meeting at the Ahajioku Centre in the state capital, instructed that every security agent operating in the state should be given N10, 000 each from the largesse, saying that the gesture was to appreciate the security agencies for fighting crime in the state, especially the successful release of the kidnapped actress.
Commending the state Police Command, Okorocha reiterated the commitment of his administration in partnering with security agencies to stamp out crime in the state, especially kidnapping and other heinous crimes, reaffirming the earlier ban on the unauthorized use of vehicles with tinted glasses and siren in the state.
The Governor also chided legal practitioners in the state for aiding and abetting kidnappers by frustrating the efforts of the state to prosecute them.
He said: “The lawyers are the worst enemies of Imo State. Every kidnapper has a lawyer he pays to wriggle him out when he is caught up with the law”.
The police boss added that “initially, the family paid N7million to the kidnappers and the police who laid ambush swooped on them at the point of collection and recovered the money that was locked in the trunk of their car as they escaped. We brought a lot of pressure on them and they were jittery and could no longer contact the family members”.
According to him, “after we returned the money to the family, they went behind us and paid N8milliom to the kidnappers. Surprisingly I saw Nkiru in my office after she was released, and I was told they paid N8million to secure her release”.
Bolanta, however, said that the fleeing kidnappers would be brought to book. “Let me assure you that this will not go unresolved like previous cases. Anyone involved will be brought to book. We have made some arrests, and very soon the ones that are at large will be apprehended”.
Meanwhile, Governor Rochas Okorocha has ordered the release of N500 million as a Christmas package for security operatives in the state.
Okorocha, who gave the directive during an expanded Security Council meeting at the Ahajioku Centre in the state capital, instructed that every security agent operating in the state should be given N10, 000 each from the largesse, saying that the gesture was to appreciate the security agencies for fighting crime in the state, especially the successful release of the kidnapped actress.
Commending the state Police Command, Okorocha reiterated the commitment of his administration in partnering with security agencies to stamp out crime in the state, especially kidnapping and other heinous crimes, reaffirming the earlier ban on the unauthorized use of vehicles with tinted glasses and siren in the state.
The Governor also chided legal practitioners in the state for aiding and abetting kidnappers by frustrating the efforts of the state to prosecute them.
He said: “The lawyers are the worst enemies of Imo State. Every kidnapper has a lawyer he pays to wriggle him out when he is caught up with the law”.
