Frontline Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark can now heave a sigh of relief after his son, Ebikeme, who was kidnapped last Wednesday, has been released by his captors. Ebikeme was kidnapped at Kiagbodo community in Bomadi, Delta State.
The kidnappers had demanded the sum of N60 million to release Ebikeme, who is the second son of the former Federal Commissioner for Information.
It would be recalled that Clark had stood up to his son’s kidnappers weekend, advising them to release him unharmed or face the consequences, which he likened to a war.
Speaking through his counsel, Mr Dockson Bekederemo, Clark had made it clear that he would not pay any ransom to secure Ebikeme’s release from the kidnapper’s den.
“We’ve identified all those involved now, and our position, right from the day one, is that they must release him unconditionally. They must have made a mistake of identity. And now that they have realised their mistake, they must release him unconditionally”, Bekederemo said.
He added: “If that is not done, if anything happens to him, they know the Ijaw custom very well: it is life for life. We’ll go after them, it’s a declaration of war. They and their families will know no peace. This is an embarrassment to the Ijaw nation and we’ll not take it from them. Clark symbolises the voice of the Ijaw man. When they needed a voice to speak for them, he came out at the risk of his life, so we see no reason why an Ijaw son would want to embarrass this man, having made the ultimate sacrifice for them”.
Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Tina Kalu confirmed that Ebikeme was released Saturday midnight.
However, it was not clear if the ransom was eventually paid to the kidnappers.
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