Gunmen kidnapped 12 people in Bayelsa yesterday, including a Christ Embassy pastor named Lawrence Ohimare.
The victims were commuting from Twon-Brass to Yenagoa in a speedboat taxi when the kidnappers, who came on another boat, hijacked the boat around the Obama rice farm in Nembe and drove straight to the Okoromo creek.
A member of the church named Eriye Tumeni confirmed the incident. He said his pastor Ohimare has since been unreachable.
“As I am speaking, we have yet to hear from the abductors or from the pastor (Ohimare). The wife of the pastor is completely devastated and had to be attended to. Since we received the news, I have called the Divisional Police Officer in Nembe, the Bayelsa Commissioner of Police, the JTF Commander and all other relevant security agencies in the state to help us in securing the release of the pastor and the other 11 passengers on board.”
The police PRO in Bayelsa, Asinim Bustwat, has also confirmed the kidnap and he said the police are investigating the matter.
Last week militants bombed various oil installations in the Niger Delta to sobatage production. The Herald gathers that the militants have threatened to go on with the attacks until the NNPC negotiates peace conditions with them. These recent militant attacks and kidnaps have raised fresh concerns about security in the region.