The Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 5, Mr. Musa Daura, on Monday, demanded community cooperation to tackle rising cases of kidnappings in Bayelsa State.
Daura spoke against the backdrop of several reported cases of abductions in the state including the recent kidnapping of a woman, identified as Mrs. Adioyili Agidi.
Agidi, said to be around 55 years old, was said to have been abducted on Sunday by gunmen who operated in a speedboat.
Based on what was gathered, the gunmen, numbering six, stormed the house of their victim at Opume in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state and abducted her.
Opume is the community of Amalate Turner, a prominent political leader and close ally of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The gunmen were said to have shot sporadically into the air to scare Agidi's neighbours before seizing her at about 9am.
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Ogbia clan, Mr. Osaanya B. Osaanya, asked the abductors to release the woman with immediate effect.
He also urged the security agencies to check incessant kidnappings in the council which he described as “one too many.”
Osaanya said, “We are sending a strong message to community leaders, especially in Opume, to be vigilant. We have noticed that each time a prominent chief visits the community, there will be a kidnap case.
“Ijaw youths in the council under my leadership will assist security agencies to ensure that the woman is released.”
Also the AIG in charge of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states, said the police were undertaking measures to check kidnappings and other vices in the state.
Daura said since the police were not magicians, they relied on information from communities, especially coastal settlements to effectively contain the menace.
He appealed to members of the public to freely contact the police whenever they noticed suspected strange faces in their domains.
Daura, who toured some police formations in Yenagoa and held a meeting with members of the Police Community Relations Committee, said the police would crack any criminal case if they got information on good time.