It is no longer news that the wife of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Gov, Mrs. Margaret Emefiele was recently kidnapped in Benin City, Edo State and was later rescued from her abductors.
Edo vigilance groups lament abandonment, loss of member during rescue
It is no longer news that the wife of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Gov, Mrs. Margaret Emefiele was recently kidnapped in Benin City, Edo State and was later rescued from her abductors.
The suspects were recently paraded in Abuja, but the community leaders from Ehumu area in Uhunmwonde Local Council yesterday said contrary to police claims that their operatives alone rescued her, members of the Civil Vigilance Group of Emuhun community, revealed how they fought the kidnappers and rescued the victims.
They lamented that they had been left out in the whole story as they lost one of their members, identified as Gabriel Okorare, who in the process of assisting in the rescue mission, was shot by the suspected kidnappers.
They told journalists in Benin City that the late Okorare, 64, left behind 11 children, two wives and an aged mother, who had been living with his son for over 25 years.
Two members of the vigilance group, Wilson Igbinosu and Osahon Idu, faulted police’s claim that security operatives alone secured the release of the victims.
Osahon Idu, who gave a detailed account of how they engaged the kidnappers, who were armed with AK47 assault rifles with locally- made dane guns, added that they lost one of their members, Gabriel Okorare, during a gun battle with the suspected kidnappers.
He disclosed that Okorare was hit by the kidnappers’ bullet and he died on the spot.Also, the Secretary to Emuhun Community, Deacon Samson Osagie, berated the police “for dumping the body of their kinsmen at Abudu General Hospital and abandoning his family.”
“Gabriel Okorare’s death was reported at Okhuaihe Police Station. He called on the relevant security agencies and persons to assist the family, the group and the communities.
When contacted on phone, the spokesman of Edo State Police Command, Stephen Onwuchie, who said he was in a meeting and asked for time to respond and was yet to call back as at the time of filing this report.The Commissioner of Police, Haliru Gwandu did not pick calls and was said to be in a meeting when The Guardian visited.
