JTF, DSS rescue kidnapped Bayelsa monarch

THE traditional ruler of Oporomor Kingdom, Bayelsa State, HRM Augustine Ebikeme, kidnapped last Sunday at Kokori, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State has been released.
The royal father is also the spiritual leader of Egbesu, the Ijaw war deity and first vice chairman of Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council.
He was rescued, Monday, by operatives of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in collaboration with men of the Department of State Security, DSS, from an uncompleted building at a bush in Kokori after a shoot out with the kidnappers, who escaped unhurt.
The security operatives were said to have stormed the kidnappers' hideout where the victim was being held during ransom negotiation with the family.
"HRM was rescued unhurt while the suspects fled into the surrounding swampy area. The suspects are being trailed, while the house used as hideout was set ablaze instantly," the JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Mustapha Anka, told newsmen.
The monarch was handed over to Bayelsa State deputy governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah (rted) by the JTF Commander, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Atewe in Government House, Yenagoa, Monday night.
Jonah, who spoke on behalf of the governor, commended the JTF for its prompt response which led to the rescue of King Ebikeme.
He also enjoined community leaders in the state to caution their youths to desist from unwholesome acts such as kidnapping, warning that they will eventually be caught and made to face the full weight of the law.
The deputy governor also said that he was delighted to see the monarch brought back, hale and hearty with no ransom paid.
Briefing the deputy governor earlier, Maj. Gen. Atewe said that immediately the monarch was abducted by the hoodlums at Kokori, he activated the anti-kidnapping squad of the JTF which swung into action.
According to him, following a tip-off, the JTF squad kept a tab on the kidnappers and eventually got to the building in a bush at Kokori where the monarch was held and rescued him after a shoot out but the kidnappers escaped into the near-by swamp. He assured that they will be eventually arrested.