Gunmen abduct Eket traditional ruler, demand N150m ransom

THE paramount ruler of Esit, Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Ubong Asam, has been reportedly abducted by yet-to-be-identifed gunmen.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that gunmen, numbering over 20, stormed the resident of the royal father in Akpautong in the early hours of Tuesday and made away the chief.

An eyewitness account has it that the abductors, who arrived the resident in a 14-seater Toyota Haice, fired gunshots, waking the villagers in the process, just as they overpowered the security operatives attached to the traditional ruler.

Sources close to the traditional ruler’s family told the Nigerian Tribune that the abductors, who established contact with the family through a telephone call, were demanding a ransom of N150 million

According to the source, the unidentified gunmen were alleging that they had been surcharged by the royal father and other chieftains, as they refused to give the youth their share of the oil spill compensation paid by ExxonMobil in 2012.

It will be recalled that the oil giant paid N2.6 billion out of the N26.5billion demanded by the host community for damages caused by oil spillage as a result of the activities of the company.

The kidnappers, according to the source, said the only way they could get their own share of the booty was to abduct the traditional ruler and demand for their money in form of ransom.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state police command, who confirmed the incident, said investigations were ongoing to uncover those behind the kidnap and  rescue the victim.

Paramount rulers of Eket, Unna, and Ibeno, among others, were said to have visited Assam’s palace in Akpautong in solidarity.