By Ezra Ijioma
Sunday, 18 Jul 2010


As the uncertainty over the whereabouts of the abducted journalists continue to linger, the Chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Staff Association of Nigeria, Department of Petroleum Resources chapter, Mr. Issa Ibrahim, has also been kidnapped in Owerri, Imo State.


Ibrahim‘s abductors who are now demanding N10m, had earlier requested N200m for his release.


Ibrahim, who flew into Owerri from Lagos, was allegedly kidnapped alongside his wife on Friday.


His wife was said to have picked him from the airport and was driving into the city when unknown men accosted the couple and took them away. His wife was, however, later released.


When contacted, the President of PENGASSAN, Mr. Babatunde Ogun, confirmed the abduction and appealed to the Federal Government to facilitate the release of Ibrahim.


The South-East has been besieged by kidnappers who last Sunday kidnapped four journalists including the Lagos State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Wahab Oba; the state Assistant Secretary, Mr. Sylva Okereke, the Zonal Secretary, Mr. Adolphus Okonkwo; Mr. Sola Oyeyibo and their driver, Mr. Azeez Abdulrouf - at Umuafor Ukwu in Obingwa, Abia State while returning from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State after a three-day National Executive Committee meeting of the NUJ.

i think a state of emergency should be declared in the south east. kidnapping is now the order of the day.

What is happening in this country?

RICHIE BOI:

i think a state of emergency should be declared in the south east. kidnapping is now the order of the day.

Amnesty oooooooooooooooooooooooo!

turn by turn ooooooooooooooooo!

~Bluetooth:

you mean in iboland ?

Abeg, kidnapping is happening everywhere; in the North, South, East and West. Something is going wrong with the country, it is wiser to address that.

Beaf:

Abeg, kidnapping is happening everywhere; in the North, South, East and West. Something is going wrong with the country, it is wiser to address that.

the alarming rate with which it's happening in the EAST necessitates deployment of military to the area.it keeps happening everyday.

~Bluetooth:

the alarming rate with which it's happening in the EAST necessitates deployment of military to the area.it keeps happening everyday.

And you think the Igbo will like the presence of the Nigerian military into our region? You will have another thing coming Forget the kidnappers, that will start another civil war, because we have seen what the military have done in the past and in Odi where they despoiled women and killed innocent civilians.

Thank God the kidnappers did not kidnap an Igbo. People in the oil industry need to be afraid. Since they steal from the Niger Delta, they should be dealt with.

EzeUche:

And you think the Igbo will like the presence of the Nigerian military into our region? You will have another thing coming Forget the kidnappers, that will start another civil war, because we have seen what the military have done in the past and in Odi where they despoiled women and killed innocent civilians.

Thank God the kidnappers did not kidnap an Igbo. People in the oil industry need to be afraid. Since they steal from the Niger Delta, they should be dealt with.

how can it lead to civil war ? The joint task force are not going there to kill innocent citizens but attend to their primary responsibility which is anti-kidnapping.JTF to this day still have their operations in bayelsa,rivers,warri,akwa ibom and other places in the niger delta and there has not been any serious crisis that may result into civil war.

~Bluetooth:

how can it lead to civil war ? The joint task force are not going there to kill innocent citizens but attend to their primary responsibility which is anti-kidnapping.JTF to this day still have their operations in bayelsa,rivers,warri,akwa ibom and other places in the niger delta and there has not been any serious crisis that may result into civil war.

And let them Hausa Marauders stay in those core Niger Deltan states. Igbo elders will not allow any JTF into our territory. That is not up for discussion. Igbos may not be united as we were once was during Biafra, but inviting the JTF into our region will stir a hornets nets and cause the Igbo to join forces and push these people out. Igboland once again is becoming restless and this must be dealt with promptly or it may explode again. You think a major tribe like the Igbo will continue being mocked and ostracized?

Thank God the kidnappers did not kidnap an Igbo. People in the oil industry need to be afraid. Since they steal from the Niger Delta, they should be dealt with.

 
was about to reply you and i read this
 

At the crib, smokin some Igbo

and i see what  influences your thoughts.
never mind.

~Bluetooth:

how can it lead to civil war ? The joint task force are not going there to kill innocent citizens but attend to their primary responsibility which is anti-kidnapping.JTF to this day still have their operations in bayelsa,rivers,warri,akwa ibom and other places in the niger delta and there has not been any serious crisis that may result into civil war.

This is why Nigeria is on the list of failed states. In what developed country (even fellow African country) have you heard of the military being deployed to do police work?

Are you living on a different planet? JTF never solved any problems in the ND, indeed 14 of them where killed in one of their first operations and subsequent operations saw similarly high numbers bite the dust (or water), hence the bribery called amnesty, whereas, what we ask for is true federalism.
The problem in the East is very different and does not require more than the regular police; except that our police are as failed as the state called Nigeria is.

EzeUche:

And let them Hausa Marauders stay in those core Niger Deltan states. Igbo elders will not allow any JTF into our territory. That is not up for discussion. Igbos may not be united as we were once was during Biafra, but inviting the JTF into our region will stir a hornets nets and cause the Igbo to join forces and push these people out. Igboland once again is becoming restless and this must be dealt with promptly or it may explode again. You think a major tribe like the Igbo will continue being mocked and ostracized?

your tribes men are tarnishing the name of NIGERIA and you expect us to turn away from the embarrassment it's causing us because ibo people do not want hausa to invade their land.
if the so called hausa can be stationed in core niger delta and maintain peace,the i see no reason why they can't be deployed to iboland to deal with the rising spate of kidnapping.it's becoming irriating and embarrassing.

Beaf:

This is why Nigeria is on the list of failed states. In what developed country (even fellow African country) have you heard of the military being deployed to do police work?

Are you living on a different planet? JTF never solved any problems in the ND, indeed 14 of them where killed in one of their first operations and subsequent operations saw similarly high numbers bite the dust (or water), hence the bribery called amnesty, whereas, what we ask for is true federalism.
The problem in the East is very different and does not require more than the regular police; except that our police are as failed as the state called Nigeria is.

military are always called in whenever the situation is beyond the capability of the police and since iboland is becoming nigeria's afghanistan,then it has become imperative that the military should be invited.

~Bluetooth:

military are always called in whenever the situation is beyond the capability of the police and since iboland is becoming nigeria's afghanistan,then it has become imperative that the military should be invited.

Why is it beyond the capability of the police? How?
Nigeria is not a police state ruled by Stalin and no matter how embarrassed you might claim to be, drafting in the army will be even more of an embarrassment to the country.
Stop wasting your time feeling embarrassed about other people, look around and tell me how much there is to be proud about. When you find very little, channel your energy positively to making us proud.

Beaf:

The problem in the East is very different and does not require more than the regular police; except that our police are as failed as the state called Nigeria is.

In view of the bolded above, what would you recommend to arrest the rising kidnap cases in the east?

Beaf:

Why is it beyond the capability of the police? How?
Nigeria is not a police state ruled by Stalin and no matter how embarrassed you might claim to be, drafting in the army will be even more of an embarrassment to the country.
Stop wasting your time feeling embarrassed about other people, look around and tell me how much there is to be proud about. When you find very little, channel your energy positively to making us proud.

since police cant solve the problem,we should just sit down and look while the kidnappers have a field day with their crime.is nigeria heading towards an anarchy state ? Jtf is still the best option or do you have any ?

^See below.

Dark1:

In view of the bolded above, what would you recommend to arrest the rising kidnap cases in the east?

That we consider it a national failure (and there are many). We need to dig deep to find out what the root causes are;
Is it connected to 2011? If so, who is involved, police, govs etc?
Is it that Igbo's have been traditionally maligned in the country since the war and react quicker to any negative slide in the country? If so, what should be done to promote equity?
Is it because government (by extension police) is too far away from the people that things have got this far out of hand? If so, should we not be looking at implementing true federalism and bringing govet (and the police) closer to the people?

There are tons of deeper questions we should be really bothered about, not just applying quick bandages to every problem. Nigeria is rickety, because everything is done from Abuja and we've got it all upside down.

Can you guys please stop it, every thread on this section has been turned to tribalistic rants, someone opens a good thread you attack it. we created a specisl section for your rants, its called the racism ad tribalism section, please take it over there, am getting tired of cleaning up after adults, act your age please, Enough

Beaf:

^See below.

That we consider it a national failure (and there are many). We need to dig deep to find out what the root causes are;
Is it connected to 2011? If so, who is involved, police, govs etc?
Is it that Igbo's have been traditionally maligned in the country since the war and react quicker to any negative slide in the country? If so, what should be done to promote equity?
Is it because government (by extension police) is too far away from the people that things have got this far out of hand? If so, should we not be looking at implementing true federalism and bringing govet (and the police) closer to the people?

There are tons of deeper questions we should be really bothered about, not just applying quick bandages to every problem. Nigeria is rickety, because everything is done from Abuja and we've got it all upside down.

As embarrassing as it might seem a quick fix approach would be required to stem the current tide of crimes, while bearing in mind that the root cause of ill-health curently plaguing the nation polity/politics be looked into.

Beaf:

^See below.

That we consider it a national failure (and there are many). We need to dig deep to find out what the root causes are;
Is it connected to 2011? If so, who is involved, police, govs etc?
Is it that Igbo's have been traditionally maligned in the country since the war and react quicker to any negative slide in the country? If so, what should be done to promote equity?
Is it because government (by extension police) is too far away from the people that things have got this far out of hand? If so, should we not be looking at implementing true federalism and bringing govet (and the police) closer to the people?

There are tons of deeper questions we should be really bothered about, not just applying quick bandages to every problem. Nigeria is rickety, because everything is done from Abuja and we've got it all upside down.

kidnapping is a crime that has nothing to do with the civl war,marginalisation or true federalism.it is a crime that must be addressed with a criminal approach.no sentiments in that.

~Bluetooth:

kidnapping is a crime that has nothing to do with the civl war,marginalisation or true federalism.it is a crime that must be addressed with a criminal approach.no sentiments in that.

I'm saying we need to stop our "cut and sew" attitude to fixing problems, because all that will happen is the problem will only pop up elsewhere, bigger and stronger. SSS and military intelligence are already helping the police, which is a proportionate first response to the problem.

Dark1:

As embarrassing as it might seem a quick fix approach would be required to stem the current tide of crimes, while bearing in mind that the root cause of ill-health curently plaguing the nation polity/politics be looked into.

If we employ a double barreled gun to get rid of a fly, there is no guarantee that we will hit the fly. Instead, we just might hit the wrong target and stir up a hornets nest.
I believe the response should be well thought out, proportional and continous; whilst we keep an eye out for the root causes.

Dude, u affirmed urself the pathetic state of naija police, so where lies the solution?

Beaf:

I'm saying we need to stop our "cut and sew" attitude to fixing problems, because all that will happen is the problem will only pop up elsewhere, bigger and stronger. SSS and military intelligence are already helping the police, which is a proportionate first response to the problem.

you are justing mixing your thoughts together.what do you call this
sss + military intelligence + police ? Is that not a joint operation ? So don't get scared whenever you hear anything joint taskforce,it's just the combination you just cited.

^^^^ 10/10!!!

~Bluetooth:

you are justing mixing your thoughts together.what do you call this
sss + military intelligence + police ? Is that not a joint operation ? So don't get scared whenever you hear anything joint taskforce,it's just the combination you just cited.

Abeg jare! Don't water down JTF!
They come with aircraft, warships, tanks. . . The full military works. Why would we need such to flush out mere kidnappers because we are embarrassed? It would only turn out more of an embarrassment to a country as big as Nigeria.

aisha2:

Can you guys please stop it, every thread on this section has been turned to tribalistic rants, someone opens a good thread you attack it. we created a specisl section for your rants, its called the racism ad tribalism section, please take it over there, am getting tired of cleaning up after adults, act your age please, Enough

Thank God you can see these things, your job must be hard!

The south east is over due for state of emergency,this is too much,

Beaf:

Abeg jare! Don't water down JTF!
They come with aircraft, warships, tanks. . . The full military works. Why would we need such to flush out mere kidnappers because we are embarrassed? It would only turn out more of an embarrassment to a country as big as Nigeria.

meeting the kidnapper with a fiercer fire power is the only thing that can crush them.let the sss and military intelligence provide the intelligence while the infantry soldier and police can invade them.that is the only way this kidnapping issue can reduce drastically.sometimes fire brigade approach seems to be the perfect answer.

These kidnappers are just unemployed youth.

EzeUche:

These kidnappers are just unemployed youth.

i get it. . . .unemployed youths demanding for #250 million.abegiii

~Bluetooth:

i get it. . . .unemployed youths demanding for #250 million.abegiii

Well the money will probably be divided amongst their family members and their village. When people are starving and there are no jobs, then crime rises.