Jonathan’s father regains freedom from kidnappers

A foster father to the former President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Nitabai Inegite who was kidnapped last month has again tasted the air of freedom.

His abductors set him free on Tuesday evening, but it was still unclear if ransom was paid for his release, and if so, how much.

72-year-old Inegite was abducted with a nephew, Samuel Okies Chief Inegite, who was later found dead with his body floating on the Otuoke River.

The kidnappers were said to have reduced their initial ransom from N50m to N2m, but Jonathan had insisted that he was not going to pay any ransom.

Inegite’s release was made known by the Bayelsa State commissioner of police, Mr Peter Ogunyanwo in Yenagoa while parading 37 armed robbery and kidnap suspects at the Police headquarters.

Read also: Kidnapped Ex-President Jonathan’s cousin found dead

He said, “On the kidnap of the foster father of former President Gooluck Jonathan, Chief Inegite, I have met several times with the former president on the matter and he has insisted that he is not going to pay ransom. The kidnappers have reduced their ransom to about N2m but the former President said he would not pay ransom.”

“We are on the trail of the kidnappers and we would get them. People should not pay ransom. Just like Governor Henry Seriake Dickson also did not pay ransom for the freedom of his sister, people should be discouraged to pay ransom so
that the business of kidnapping would stop,” he said.

Ogunyanwo who said the Police foiled a kidnap attempt of the newly sworn-in chairman of the state environmental sanitation authority, Hon Robert Enogha, urged members of the public to come with useful information that would ensure that criminal elements are not allowed to operate in Bayelsa state.

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