Kidnappers Abduct Cross River's Deputy Governor's Father

Heavily armed gunmen in the wee hours of Friday kidnapped the octogenarian father of the Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Chief Essien Cobham, from his home in the Creek Town area of the state.

The kidnappers were said to have entered and left the town through the Calabar waterways on speedboats at about 2am and operated for over an hour.

“They broke the wall of the deputy governor’s father’s house to gain access to the building."

An uncle of the deputy governor whose name could not be immediately ascertained was equally said to have been abducted by the kidnappers.

A source who pleaded anonymity said the heavily armed men accompanied by Alsatian dogs came in from the Bakassi axis of the waterways with two flying boats. "They also vandalised the building where the younger brother of the director-general of SSS was staying. The house is believed to be a family compound. But they faced stiff resistance from security agents,” he said.

A resident of the town, Mr. Solomon Akpan, further revealed that the kidnappers, who are suspected to have been assisted by insiders from the community, made away with their victims through the creeks.

The Cross River State police command say they are on top of the situation.