The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has announced arrest of four persons allegedly responsible for the kidnapping of Chief Tuesday Jumbo, the Clan Head of Obong, in Etim Ekpo local government area of the state.
Chief Jumbo was abducted on Sunday by five unknown gunmen, suspected to be members of a cult group, who stormed his palace at Ikot Nya Village and whisked him away in the presence of his family.
The Commissioner of Police of Akwa Ibom State, CP Zubairu Muazu, who confirmed the arrest on Wednesday said the four suspects were helping the Police in the process of arresting perpetrators of the heinous crime.
Muazu who spoke through his Public Relations Officer, DSP, Bala Elkana, said a crack team of anti-riot policemen, including the State Anti- Robbery and Kidnapping Squad (SARS) had been deployed to comb the surrounding areas of Ikot Nya and its environs with a view to rescuing the monarch alive.
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Meanwhile anxiety and fear has continued to grip members of the traditional ruler’s family following the family’s inability to establish contacts with the kidnappers since he was abducted on Sunday.
“Up till now, we are in fear because the kidnappers are yet to contact the family for ransom. We don’t whether he was kidnapped to be killed or for cash, that is why we are still shocked and apprehensive,” a family source who would not want his name in print said on Wednesday.
Obong clan in Etim Ekpo has become a theatre of cult killings and politically motivated abductions ahead of the forthcoming local government elections slated to hold across the 31 councils of Akwa Ibom State on December 2.
It was learnt that several high profile politicians in the area have allegedly fuelled the killings using local thugs and suspected cultists in Etim Ekpo and the neighbouring Ukanafun local government areas, in which no fewer than 70 persons have been killed in the last one year
