There has been an increase in the reported cases of kidnapping incidents in the Port Harcourt city of the oil-rich Rivers state in Nigeria.

AnchorNews correspondent, Ebiye Sekibo, compiled this report which highlighted the most notable cases as kidnapping incidents has now become an almost daily occurrence.

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Starting with the kidnap saga of the father to the renowned Nigerian comedian Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ejekwu popularly known as Sabinus, our correspondent gathered that the comedian’s father, Mr Ejekwu was abducted on his return to his residence in Port Harcourt after a trip outside the Rivers state. Premium Times reported the incident occurred on the night of Tuesday, July 9, 2024, while Mr Ejekwu regained freedom a few days after the son, Sabinus, paid a huge ransom to secure his release. On his private Facebook page, Sabinus confirmed that a ransom was paid for his father's safe release. Even though he did not disclose the exact amount paid, he was grateful for being able to secure the ransom.

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Late last month, some unknown gunmen kidnapped the police orderly and driver of a Rivers monarch, His Royal Highness (HRH), Chief Cornwell, the paramount ruler of Rumu-Elechi community in Nkpolu-Orowurokwo, Port Harcourt City Local Government Area. The gunmen abducted the victims at the residence of the monarch, where it was later discovered that the original target was the monarch. According to a top member of Diobu Vigilante Service, a vigilante group, that provides security around the Diobu area, he said “I received a call about the abduction of HRH Cornwell Ihunwo about 9 pm on Saturday, I rushed down to his house at Eagle Island where I met him. Chief Cornwell told me it was his driver and Police orderly who were abducted. We condemned the planned abduction of HRH Ihunwo and called on the Police to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident.”

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Sometime last month, there was a report of a kidnap of one Dr Pius Ogbodo who works with a training company - NAL Consulting in Port Harcourt on the 22nd of June 2024. According to eye witness, Ogbodo was kidnapped at about 1920hrs at about 300 meters away from his residence as he was returning from work. The kidnappers had established contact with the victim’s elder brother, Nick Ogbodo, who lives in Lagos demanding for heavy ransom to be paid before Pius could be released. The family members who were all traumatized by the incident did everything possible, including reaching out to the police and negotiating with the kidnappers, to ensure that their breadwinner and brother regained freedom. In a related development, another staff of an oil company in Port Harcourt Mr Simeon was reportedly kidnapped on the same day in Rumuokoro area of the city and subsequently released with no information on whether ransom was paid or not.

Nobody is immune to the spate of kidnapping in Rivers state. A few months ago, a journalist with Channels TV, Joshua Rogers who is the Government House correspondent for Channels Television in Rivers State, was kidnapped near his residence at Rumuosi community in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State on the 11th of April 2024 and released the following day. According to a Leadership News report, a staff of Channels Television in Port Harcourt, Charles Oporum, confirmed Rogers’ release. The management of the media organization later stated the incident stating; “Channels Television reporter, Joshua Rogers, who was abducted last night in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has been freed. We thank our viewers and all those who expressed concern over the unfortunate incident.”

The kidnappers had become very daring since last year. An incident that occurred earlier this year in January saw the kidnappers blocking a major highway, the Obiri-Ikwerre – Airport Road in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, at about a five-minute drive from the Port Harcourt International Airport roundabout and reportedly ambushed some vehicles, whisking away at least three travelers. A spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident to Punch Newspapers correspondent. Iringe-Koko said the Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, drafted tactical team commanders and Divisional Police Officers to the area to rescue the victims.

The police have been doing the much they could to contain the situation and their efforts have yielded positive results. As a result of the police intelligence gathering efforts, a Port Harcourt-based upcoming Nollywood actor, Prince Henry Ode, was discovered to be a notorious kidnapper. He and his gang were trailed and killed during a foiled kidnap operation in Lagos on July 5th, 2024. The Lagos State Police Command’s Special Squad One Team confirmed that they took down the gang of nine men when they engaged the men around the State's Ajao, Okota, Isolo, and Ladipo axis. According to reports, five AK-47 rifles and two SUV jeeps were recovered during the operations.