I watched as snipers killed six kidnappers —BAYELSA SSG’s WIFE

Written by Samuel Oyadongha    
Tuesday, 12 August 2008  


WIFE of the Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government, Mrs. Augusta Ekeuwei broke her silence on her seventeen days in captivity saying she watched in horror as snipers who rescued her from the jaws of death shot dead six of her kidnappers.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service at the Doxa Family Church where she was abducted by armed gunmen on June 1, 2008 few days before her husband was appointed as SSG, Mrs. Ekeuwei held the congregation spellbound with her graphic description of how she was kidnapped, her experience in the hands of the kidnappers and how she was eventually rescued on the last day her captors had threatened to waste her life owing to the alleged refusal of her husband to cooperate with them.

The nursing mother said it was by the Grace of God that she survived what she described as her journey through the valley of death and prayed that not even her enemy should undergo what she passed through.

Mrs. Ekeuwei, who said it was while in captivity that she observed her first menstruation after giving birth to her last child noted with sadness that she did not take her bath during her incarceration, “I was smelling all over as I saw my first menstruation after child birth and it was the same time I defecated that I was confined to making it difficult for me to eat the food they offered me.”  

Narrating her ordeal, Mrs. Ekeuwei who had every reason to thank God for sparing her life during the seventeen days she was kept incommunicado said, “I woke up and took my children to church about 8am.

Being a children teacher I was singing with the children and after a while as I was about breast feeding my child I saw some armed gunmen on the other side of the road who marched straight to church and ordered me to follow them. I complied and went with them to their waiting bus and they zoomed off.”

According to her, they (gunmen) told her to pray warning that if they were attacked by security operatives they will not hesitate to kill her.

Continuing she said, “on getting to the outskirt of town they stopped and ordered me to come down from the vehicle after blind folding me and took me into the forest.

“Later a man they called commander came and collected my husband number. My thinking was that my husband will come the next day and secure my release but this was not to be as it turned out to be a long wait.”

She said though her husband was able to speak with her captors but that there was heated argument on the phone as he refused to accede to their demand for ransom insisting that he does not have the amount they were demanding for.

“In spite of the threat from my captors that they will shoot my leg if he refused to cooperate with them my husband was adamant that “God will take care of the situation.”

“When I asked for food they told me they had nothing but that I should wait for commander who later offered me indomie noodles. I could not eat it as they only turn hot water into it. I demanded for bread and nitric but could not eat because of the dirty surrounding.

She added that through divine intervention and with her husband refusal to accede to the demand of her kidnapers there was confusion in the camp as the boys were no longer united and were breaking in rank daily.

“I resorted to prayers and on the 15 day I became restless and resigned to fate. I was smelling all over as I saw my first menstruation after child birth and it was the same place I defecate that I was confined to making it difficult for me to eat the food they offered me,” she said adding that her morale was further shattered when the commander came to say her husband refused to cooperate and that they will kill her the next day.

The SSG’s wife who said one of the kidnapers confided in her that he was an undergraduate noted that seventeen day the commander came to her and said the game was over and that they would killed her, when men suspected to be police snipers moved in and took out six of her captors.

“I watched in horror as the policemen shot dead six of my captors in a rescue operation,” she said thanking God for sparing her life.

In his remark, the elated husband, Mr. Gideon Ekeuwei explained that contrary to reports that his wife was released she was actually rescued through the use of force by security operatives stressing that no ransom was paid.  

Recalling the sad incident, the officiating minister, Rev Tuesday Emmanuel said, they cried to God for his intervention as it as a slap on His face for them to have come unto God’s house and kidnapped a worshiper.

Lamenting the sad turn of event in region, he lamented that the incessant attack on expatriates in has taken its toll on construction companies forcing Julius Berger to pull out of Rivers and Bayelsa State .

Sagamite:

We should recognise and praise the Naija SWAT team in Niger Delta.

And good riddance to the morons shot dead.

Sagamite:

But this appears to have some merit as she is giving a story in Church (place of truth ) weeks after the whole debacle.

If it is not true, why would she bother?

Sagamite:

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“I watched in horror as the policemen shot dead six of my captors in a rescue operation,” she said thanking God for sparing her life.

df2006:

morons. why will the woman lie, if any of you go through half of what the woman went through, you won,t even even remmember your names, not to talk of following a script, and if the husband payed the ransome, why will he wait seventeen days to do so, further complicating his wife,s life, who just delivered. some of you should stop tapping rubbish in the comfort, and safety of your small rooms abroad, tearing mouth any how.

df2006:

i wonder why you dey call the woman bitch, are you angry she survived.

cold:

She said she was blindfolded on the day of captivity & transferred to another car.She didn't say she was blindfolded through out her ordeal.I wonda how some people read.

SENATOR JD:

with their brains shut.no reasoning at all

Ibime:

If she saw all 6 of them killed, then they must have seen each other getting picked off. That means they were all in the same place - meaning that the moment the first one was killed, they would have turned and shot the hostage - bitch is a liar!

Sagamite:

Some of you don't realise the challenges some people face to try and use their brain when they are not used to using it.

Sagamite link=topic=[tt:

A) You first reaction is that you will kill the woman and get into serious trouble (if you are not shot anyway) because obviously they know where you are now (The bullets through your colleagues should give you a clue)?

Sagamite:

Some of you don't realise the challenges some people face to try and use their brain when they are not used to using it.

Ibime:

I would put a knife to the womans neck, make I see how them want manage shoot me. Forget all this yarning. . . . Naija no get any SWAT team. . . . and none brave enough to enter the creeks to rescue this Mrs nobody. . . . wife of secretary to Bayelsa govt. . . . . who is she?. . . . certainly, Naija soldiers ain't willing to risk their lives for nothing. . . . if so, they should provide pictures of the slain militants. . . . Britiko and Yankee citizens have been kidnapped and them never fit rescue anybody successfully. . . . . last time they tried it, militants had to smoke that Scottish guy. . . . . abeg forget your commando stories jo.

Sagamite:

And then what?

Ask for a private jet to fly you to the Cayman Islands and N4bn to be wired to an account in your name in Switzerland.

Abeg, be realistic.

If them no shoot you, them go put tyre for you neck and make human suya or them go beat you to an inch of your life if you try that crap.

for your informatiom nigeria has about the best foot soilders in the wrld today, ask around if u doubt it.