For the ten days he sojourned in the mangrove where he not only had to contend with mosquitoes and other dangerous reptiles but was also manhandled by his captors some of whom were younger than his children, the kidnapped monarchhad no choice but to embark on prayer and fasting for divine intervention.
For a man who is not used to eating garri, he was forced to make do with this staple food if he must survive the hardship in the jungle. However, on a lucky day, he was given biscuit and soft drink which was a luxury in the eyes of his captors playing a mind game and hoping to cash in on his frail state of health to fleece huge sum of money from his troubled family members.
This was the painful ordeal of the Ibedawoei (clan head) of Okordia clan, HRM, King Richard Seiba who was abducted penultimate Saturday by some unknown “commercial” kidnappers and for ten agonizing days. The kingdom was on the edge as his subjects embark on fasting and prayers on his behalf.
It was therefore not surprising that the serene settlement of Ikarama -Okordia clan in Yenagoa local government area of Bayelsa State Tuesday morning came alive when news filtered in that their kidnapped monarch had been rescued.
The kidnappers of the monarch were said to have demanded N50m ransom and later reduced it to N30m on releasing the futility of their mission in a state where the new administration has discourage ransom payment for criminality they decided to let go.
Sadly, the monarch said his captors told him categorically that he must pay $150m to buy his freedom if he must return home. He added that he was miraculousthe asked to go without achieving their aim ostensibly due to pressure from the security agencies.
His case that arouse interest of the releavant authorities as the state government had to dispatch a high powered delegation comprising the state commissioner of police, the state Director of the SSS, top government functionaries and chairman of Yenagoa local government to the kingdom on a solidarity visit and to assure the family that everything humanly possible would be done to track down the kidnappers and ensure the return of the monarch.
The Inspector General of Police was also interested in the matter as he directed the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 5, to put machineries in motion in order to ensure the rescue of the monarch and that the perpetrators are brought to book. Hence, the security agencies did not rest on their oars as they not only combed all the nooks and crannies of the creeks but also resorted to the use of a special device to trace the location of his kidnappers, a development that believed to have exerted pressure on the hoodlums to abandon their victim.
Narrating his ordeal, the visibly tired monarch cladding winter jacket ostensibly given to him to wade off the biting cold at the Atlantic fringe, said providence played a major role in his release as he was asked to go by his captors after subjecting him to all sorts of inhuman treatment besides threatening to smoke him alive.
Although no ransom was eventually paid as claimed by the police and no arrest made, the monarch aged 73 told Saturday Vanguard that his captors requested the sum of $150m from him to spare his life since they were offered N50m to terminate his life by persons in his Kingdom they refused to disclose to him.
This was no doubt a tactical ploy by his captors to put pressure on the monarch but he refused to budge.
“They told me I must price my freedom or they would smoke me alive. They flogged me with tree branches and even used torch light to hit my head,” he lamented.
Afraid that they might kill him, the monarch added, “out of fear I told them I was willing to part with N10m for them to spare my life which they rejected insisting that I must pay $150m,” an amount he had never seen in his entire life.
“The kidnappers told me that they were offered the sum of N50m by some persons within my domain to eliminate me though they refused to disclose their identities.”
He alleged that the kidnappers told him they changed their mind on the mission to kill when they discovered he was an old man and instead chose to negotiate with him so as to set him free.
“I was compelled to embark on fasting for God to touch their heart but this angered them that my fasting was disturbing them and that I must stop,” he said adding that was taken aback on the fateful Monday when they asked him to go after ten agonizing days in captivity.
“They told me if I am lucky I will get free boat and luckily I saw a passenger boat passing but it refused to stop. A second boat came and stopped when I flagged it down and the driver agreed to help after listening to my story. He took me to Amassoma where I was rescued by the police,” the visibly tired monarch narrated.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kingsley Omire who directed that the monarch be taken to hospital for medical check up after briefing him in his office at the police command said pressure from the security operatives on the trail of the kidnappers might have led to his captors abandoning.
The state police boss who said no ransom was paid for the release of the monarch also expressed gratitude to God whom He said set confusion among the kidnappers and causing them to abandon their victim.
He reiterated the state government zero tolerance to criminality and assured that security operatives are on the heels of the suspects and would bring them to book in the next few days.
The commissioner urged the Bayelsa public to always help the needy confirming that it was a good spirited individual that assisted the monarch to get to Amassoma after he was abandoned on the Atlantic fringe.
He assured that security would be intensified in all the nooks and crannies of the state to avert a repeat of the ugly incident and urged residents to avail the police with useful information about any suspicious character in their midst.
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