By Emeka Mamah
The kid-nappers of the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Mr. Waje Yayok, who demanded N40 million ransom for his release, have reduced it to N10m even as the police and the government have now admitted that Yayok was indeed missing.
The government had insisted when the news broke on Tuesday morning that Yayok was on official assignment to the Kaduna south area of the state, pointing out that it was wrong to declare him either missing or kidnapped when the incident was not up to 48 hours according to international standards.
The Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mr. Tambari Mohammed, who briefed newsmen yesterday, however, said he was confident that Yayok would soon be rescued.
According to the commissioner,Yayok will be located in the next 24 hours.
He said: ”from yesterday, we have been hearing that the SSG has been missing. This briefing is to confirm to you that actually the SSG is missing.

“Secondly, all the security agencies in the town are working together in overt and covert operations which has been put on the ground to ensure that the SSG is seen and very soon, he will be seen.

“We have spread our dragnets on the ground and within the next 24 hours, he will be seen. ”

The police boss’ question and answer session with reporters’ went thus:

Question: We heard that a deadline has been given for the government to meet up otherwise he will be killed.

Answer: Are you aware of this? I am not aware of any deadline that we are given for us to meet otherwise, he will be dead. I am not aware.

Have you establish any contact with him?

No.

Contrary to what was said yesterday that he was kidnapped at Manchok, we heard that he was actually kidnapped at Kenfeli. Are the police aware of this?

That is not true at all. I was at Kenfeli myself and there were no traces of him at Kenfeli on the day of the incident. All that we know is that he travelled to the Southern part of the state for an official engagement and did not return.

I personally went to Kenfeli and there was no trace of him at all. We have not actually got to that stage as to where he was actually picked from.

Has the police contacted the family because we learnt that there was a phone call to the family by the kidnappers demanding N40m? Have you been working with the family?

Even the family are divided. You have the wife who is living here and you have the brothers who are living back in his local government area. I have read from the papers too that the kidnappers have been talking to them. They have not been talking to me in any way. But, I have read in the papers that they have being talking to the family here and in Kaura.
We want to know where the man was kidnapped?
That is what I have said. All we know is that the man left here for an official engagement to the southern part of the state. That is why I said that we need more time. But I have confirmed to you that he has actually been missing for the past 48 hours or so. It is only when you get to him that you will know at what point he was actually picked.
Have the abductors actually got in touch with you to demand the N40m?
We have a way of dealing with kidnappers. This is not the first time people are being kidnapped.
We have our special ways of dealing with them. They can ask for anything, but sometimes you can negotiate with them and, in the process, you can reach an agreeable situation and a deal is struck. Sometimes, we can use it to get to the root of the matter.

Sometimes it can also fail. However, we will not answer any question that is going to pre-empt our action. We have overt and covert actions that have been laid on ground and we are not going to do anything that will jeopardise that.