20100719
africanews

Lagos — The four journalists kidnapped last week in Abia State returned to the warm embrace of their colleagues yesterday at exactly 7.50pm at the Lagos State secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Alausa, Ikeja.

After what seemed like a whole day's wait, Lagos State NUJ Chairman, Alhaji Wahab Oba, Zone G Secretary, Mr. Adolphus Okonkwo, Assistant State Secretary, Mr. Sylva Okereke, Lagos-based journalist, Mr. Sola Oyeyipo, and their driver, Mr. Yekinni Azeez, walked into the hall at the secretariat amid shouts and cries of joy.

They were flown into Lagos from Port Harcourt in a chartered aircraft provided by the Rivers State government.

Also speaking at the brief reunion with colleagues at the secretariat, Oba, apparently overjoyed coming out of the valley of death, praised the efforts of the Nigeria Police.

He said that but for the constant chase of the kidnappers by men of the Nigeria Police, the entire frightful experience would not have ended by now.

"Until 2.00am today (yesterday), it appeared as if the next minute would be the last. We were being moved from one part of the bush to the other because the police was closing in on them. The Nigeria police deserve to be commended for their dexterity while the whole saga lasted.

"They were also very disturbed about how the media was on top of the situation and that made them to complain to us openly that it is money they wanted. At a point they tied something round my neck and I had written my will because it was me, Chairman, chairman, they were mentioning. I told Sola that he should tell my wife that God will take care of her. We slept in chains and they never allowed us to rest especially when they heard the police were coming.

"The journey started last Sunday, but thank God today because we returned hale and healthy. We were released at about 2am. We thought we could not live again because we were stranded in the bush in agony, frustration and hopelessness.

"We must appreciate the Nigeria police again. They tried to rescue us, but the kidnappers confronted the police with sophisticated weapons. When the police officers heard the sound of their guns, they retreated. When the bush became hot for them, the kidnappers had to let us go. At a time, the kidnappers started saying these people are powerful people with the manner the police are pursuing us and the way the media are airing the incident. The police mounted pressure, but they had some informants in the community. This made it difficult for the police to capture them.

"We declared fasting and prayers last Friday. At a point, Adolphus who appeared bold, started weeping profusely while Sola confessed that he would start going to Church if ever he regained his freedom. We were tied in chains and rarely slept all the nights. When we want to sleep, the kidnappers would ask us to move because police were coming. The police constantly kept them on their toes.

"We must thank God for the effort they made to secure our release. But they were handicapped considering the weapon of our captors. Let us agitate for the Nigeria Police for the government to equip them appropriately. Please let us give three Gbosas to the Nigeria police for what they have done in this instance," Oba said amid loud ovation, before they were spirited into the vehicle for the long awaited reunion with their families.

Before he left, Oba said the kidnappers handed over a sheet of paper to them containing a litany of complaints regarding unemployment, non-payment of workers salaries for months by the Abia State government, lukewarm attitude of the Federal Government to the amnesty programme and bad governance, which has subjugated the Ngwa people.

He added that they had no control over all these complaints, adding that the kidnappers vowed to continue until the government addressed all their concerns.

Speaking shortly after their return, National President of NUJ, Mallam Mohammed Garba, commended the unity with which journalists across the country handled the saga.

Garba also commended the hierarchy of the police for the single-minded pursuit of the matter despite the inadequacies in equipment.

He called on the Federal Government to look into the issue of welfare for the police urgently.

Garba also said, as the chief negotiator with the kidnappers, he knew they were desperate because they were jobless, adding that the Federal Government should look into the issue of provision of employment opportunities for the teeming army of the youth.

He said now that kidnapping was no longer restricted to one part of the country, the government should look into the entire security apparatchik in the country and make amends quickly.

Also speaking in a chat with journalists outside the press hall, Police Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Command, Mr. Frank Mba, said everyone of them was happy that "our compatriots are back hale and hearty."

Mba said the event was not an occasion for much talk since everybody was in celebration mood. He, however, assured Lagosians that they would do everything within their power to keep kidnappers away from Lagos.

"We will ensure that they never bring their nefarious activities to Lagos," he added.

Waiting Game

Before the journalists arrived Lagos yesterday, a long wait for the arrival of the "hostages" began at the Lagos State Secretariat of the NUJ.

At the secretariat, journalists from the various media houses in Lagos started arriving as early as 8.00am to be reunited once again in flesh and blood with their colleagues. As the reporters arrived one after the other, chants of "up chair" rent the air. They would walk up to the Vice-Chairman of the state council, Mr. Deji Elumoye, and congratulate him with backslappings and with thanks to God. Former leaders of NUJ in the state were not left out of the welcome party as they turned out in their large number.

Incidentally, the state Exco of the NUJ had scheduled a stakeholders' meeting for 2.00 pm yesterday to brainstorm on the way forward due to the recalcitrance of the kidnappers in the previous week. The vice-chairman later announced that the meeting had been cancelled in the light of the release of the hostages.

Elumoye gave bits of information that emanated from Umuahia, Abia State capital, where a police vehicle took them to after the abductors dumped them in the bush in the early hours of the morning. He said the journalists were in high spirits and had been released without a dime paid as ransom. He thanked Nigerians for their prayers that eventually led to the release of the leaders of the union and called for comments from among the hordes of journalists waiting for their arrival, especially from the rank of senior members of the body, who had come for the cancelled stakeholders' meeting.

Former Vice Chairman of Lagos State council of NUJ and Director General of Lagos State Films Agency, Alhaji Bolaji Othman, said every Nigerian was happy with the release of the journalists in good health and unconditionally. He said the Lagos State government welcomed the news of their release with great relief.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Ondo State Council of the NUJ, Mr. Dele Atumbi, who was on a solidarity visit, thanked God for the release. He commended the leadership of the NUJ both in Lagos and at the national level for the way they handled the crisis and kept it in the front burner of public discourse.

Vanguard

Members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) after their release: From left, Sliver Okereke, Assistant Secretary, Lagos NUJ, Okonkwo Adolphus, NUJ Zone G, Secretary, an unnamed police officer, Wahab Alabi Obo, Chairman of the NUJ Lagos Council, and Sola Oyeyipo.

In his own perspective, former Chairman of Lagos NUJ, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, said he had no kind words for the kidnappers even though they did not get their ransom before they let go the journalists. He said they have kept the abducted journalists' wives, families and colleagues in trauma in the last one week.

"Even as they continue to say they were well treated inside the forest, there is no good treatment anywhere outside your home. What this saga has brought out clearly, is the failure of the state. The kidnappers took to their dastardly trade because of joblessness. The communities in which the kidnappers operate have no water, road and electricity and it has brought the failure of the state," Arogundade said.

He challenged journalists to hold those in government accountable to provide these social amenities, adding that they should never be praised when they provide them because that is what they are there to do.