Gunmen who abducted the Chairman of Okrika Local Government Council in Rivers State, Philemon Kingoli, have demanded a sum of One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (150M) for his freedom.
This development is coming five days after the Council Chairman, was abducted at gunpoint along Odili Road in Port-Harcourt last Wednesday.
The Local Government Chairman was said to be heading home after attending a stakeholders meeting of the Okrika Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapter, where arrangements for the flag-off of local campaigns for the upcoming Local Government elections in the state were fine-tuned.
The ransom demand may have in the meantime, calmed the frayed nerves and somewhat assuaged the feeling of apprehension of his immediate family members even as the motive for his kidnap remained mere conjectures.
Sources claim his abductors could be planning to get a piece of the pie as his tenure gradually winds to an end.
With each passing hour, the security situation in the state continues to tilt to the worse just as the State Police Command intensify efforts to make the State safe and ensure that he reunites with his family at the shortest possible time and in good health.