Two members of the Osun Baptist Conference detained while delivering ransom to the kidnappers in a community in Kogi state have been released.
The two people had gone to deliver N6m to secure the release of Samuel Oladotun and Fashola Tobiloba kidnapped in the city of Ileogbo to the kidnappers, when they were also held and a new ransom of N24m was demanded.
But a letter obtained in Osogbo on Friday signed by Dr. Paul Kolawole, president of the Osun Baptist Conference, and addressed to the governor of Osun state, Senator Ademola Adeleke, indicates that the latest two victims were released on Friday.
The letter thanked Adeleke for her intervention and said that a sum of N10m was paid for the release of all the victims.
It also said in parts: “It is interesting to inform Your Excellency that two people were released on the 17th, while the last two were released today, Friday, January 20, 2023, although with the accumulated ransom payment of N10m.
Giving more information on how the victims were released, a close family source, who preferred anonymity, said the kidnappers released them in a community in Kogi state on Friday, after payment of N4m.
Meanwhile, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company said two vandals who specialized in robbing electrical installations within communities in Anambra and Abia states have been arrested.
EEDC Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, who confirmed the development in Enugu on Friday to the Nigerian News Agency, praised the efforts of various watchdog groups in south-eastern communities.
Ezeh added that there were signs that EEDC’s efforts to curb vandal activities on its network through effective stakeholder engagement were yielding the desired results.
According to him, the call to residents to ensure that vandalism activities are drastically reduced is yielding positive results, as it is evident that most communities are now more attentive to the protection of electrical installations within their domain.