Gunmen abduct monarch’s wife, principal in Bayelsa
A group of gunmen suspected to be kidnappers has abducted Madam Tina, wife of Ayakoro community’s paramount ruler, Chief Righteous Inegbagha.
The suspected kidnappers also took hostage, the Principal of Government Craft Development Centre, Ayakoro, Mr. Egbele Jack, who hails from Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.
The hoodlums were said to have shot sporadically into the air to scare indigenes away before abducting the school principal and the monarch’s wife.
It was learnt that the victims were whisked away on Saturday to an unknown destination by the hoodlums, who were said to have come in a large number.
Community sources said the assailants disrupted the peace of the community at about 2am when they struck with three AK-47 rifles, machetes and other weapons.
A member of the monarch’s family, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gunmen operated in the community for two hours, looting property and other valuables worth millions of naira.
He said some community folks mobilised to rescue the situation but they could not because the kidnappers were fully armed.
A son of the paramount ruler, who narrated his ordeal, said he was beaten mercilessly by the hoodlums when he challenged them.
The monarch’s son, who did not want his name mentioned, said, “When they came in through the window, they were asking for my father. I told them he travelled, but they asked me to take them to where he kept his money. I told them I was not aware of any money in the house.
“They descended on me and beat me mercilessly with machetes. My mother heard their voices and unknowingly came out. They seized her. They asked her to take them to my father’s room.
“They ransacked the room, scattered documents, searching for money. They carried a generator inside and took my mother away. They threatened to shoot me if I tried to stop them.”
Also, the wife of the abducted principal, Arila, who cried for her husband’s release, said the hoodlums broke the door to their living room, gained access to her husband’s room and whisked him away.
