Delta Lawmaker Kidnapped In Benin

PHOTO: MR ABEL OSHEVIRE

San Francisco, August 30, (THEWILL) - A member of the Delta State House of Assembly, Abel Oshevire, was reportedly kidnapped by unknown persons in Benin, Edo, at about 11.45am on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the incident was said to have taken place in the premises of World Paradise Church located around Agbor Motor Park, on the Benin-Asaba highway.

Mr. Oshevire, who represents Ughelli North II constituency in the Assembly, was said to have been accosted by three armed men as he walked towards his car after worshipping in the church.

Friday Onodjae, his colleague, who represents Ughelli North I, confirmed the incident, saying that the armed men forced Oshevire into his Prado Jeep and sped off.

He said the pastor of the church had called him (Onodjae) via telephone immediately after the incident, adding that the police were quickly alerted on the development.

Another legislator in Delta State, who preferred anonymity, disclosed that Oshevire’s abductors had made contact with his elder brother, Edward Oshevire, a Permanent Secretary in the state, and demanded N60 million ransom.

The kidnappers have however, reduced the ransom to N20 million naira, according to Mr. Friday Onodjae, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

Attempts to reach the older Oshevire failed, as he was said to be somewhere in a village near Ughelli. The spokesman of the Delta Police Command, Charles Moka, also confirmed the incident but noted that the information was still sketchy, as it happened in Edo, a different command.

Mr. Oshevire was for eight years, the Chief Press Secretary to the former Delta governor, James Ibori. He was elected into the Assembly in 2007.

NAN