Community Leader Recounts – How Kidnappers Emptied my Bank Accounts

Chief Goodluck Umetor, was abducted and set freed last week, but unluckily, his abductors have given a warning to him in respect to his bank account and according to Goodluck, they warned him not to block his bank account.
Goodluck Umetor is a chief in Ndele community in the Emeoha Local Government Area of Rivers State. He was abducted around 10 pm on April 2, 2018.
He said the abductors has vowed to attack him again should he go against their instruction to block his bank accounts.
He was inflicted with injuries which shows a machete must have been used on him. The village chief said the abductors has vowed to be withdrawing money at any time they wish from his bank accounts.

Umetor recalled how the gunmen took him into a forest after they blindfolded him, he further added that he was forced to go a long distance by foot before they got to the kidnappers’ hiding place.
Umetor said the hoodlums had seized his four ATM cards, which they used in withdrawing a large amount of money from his banks’ accounts.
He also confirmed that the sum of N1m as ransom was given to the kidnappers by his family after they had emptied his bank accounts.

“They warned me that I should not block the (bank) accounts and said that they would be withdrawing money at will. They said if I block the (bank) accounts that they will come after me again.
“The kidnappers also threatened to kill me if I try to give their identity to anyone. The gunmen took me on a journey inside a deep forest. They dragged me after blindfolding me and we trekked a long distance before we arrived their base.
“They said they were hired to assassinate me, but later changed their mind to collect ransom and free me. They inflicted machete cuts on my head, back and other parts of my body. They collected all my four ATM cards and sent somebody to go and withdraw money from my account before collecting additional N1m from my family,” Umetor recounted.

Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, said the kidnappers set Umetor free because they were put under pressure by the police.
Mr. Zaki Ahmed added that the Commissioner of Police in the state, had mobilized men for the unconditional release of the community chief.

He said that some of the hoodlums were involved in the dastardly act on Monday had been known; adding that the police command will look deeply in the matter in order to detain and bring them to justice.