One person was left dead while four Thai nationals were kidnapped Friday morning in Buguma, the headquarters of Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
They were abducted by armed men while on their way to work on the fish farm, managed by Omida Farms, an Israeli company.
State Commissioner for Agriculture, Emmanuel Chindah, told journalists on Friday that six employees of the fish farm were kidnapped by the hoodlums, two of whom are Nigerians; but that the kidnappers decided to release the two Nigerians midway into their operation. One of the two Nigerian workers, in an attempt to escape, jumped into the water and drowned.
Chindah lamented the situation and blamed it on the laxity of security in the state. He said the matter had been reported to the police, but noted that the breakdown of security in the area and the entire state due to the sense of boldness the police in the state has recently conferred on criminals, who were hitherto in hiding.
“The hoodlums took six of the workers, including two Nigerians; but they decided to drop the two Nigerians among their victims, probably in a bid to prevent being easily traced. Unfortunately, one of them (Nigerians) tried to escape, jumped into the water and drowned. The other one managed to swim to safety.”
“We have reported the matter to the police, but what must be emphasised is that these hoodlums feel emboldened to do this because they believe the police are now their friends. You will remember when so-called militants protested on the streets of Port Harcourt in support of Mbu. Now they have the idea that they have the police on their side and that they can resume crimes without consequences. Buguma had been calm before now, you can see that the situation is gradually degenerating into something sad,” Chindah said.
He further said that the kidnappers had not reached out to anybody since the incident occurred.
The RiversPolice Command on Friday confirmed the abduction of four expatriates and two Nigerians in Buguma, Asari-Toru Local Government Area of the state.
The Public Relations Officer of the command, Angela Agabe, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Port Harcourt that the police received the report of the incident in Buguma but details were sketchy.