Suspected daredevil kidnappers numbering about 20 struck at the home of popular businessman, Minafuro Jumbo, and whisked him and his guest, Lawrence Green, away into a waiting speedboat at the Coconut Estate waterside to an unknown location.

The kidnap incident which began about 11.23 pm and lasted for about an hour saw the kidnappers exploding three dynamites and shooting several live ammunitions to secure their victim, kill a policeman, injure another and scare away would-be interveners before making away with their victim into the lonely night.

Kristina Reports’ visit to the home of the kidnap victim witnessed a family in disarray and in gloom with his sister, wife and brothers lamenting the abduction of their loved one.

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Checks by Kristina Reports reveal that the kidnappers were allegedly on the trail of an undisclosed sum of money allegedly paid to the victim by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.

A source, who preferred anonymity, said when they arrived the victim’s home, the hoodlums demanded for the money and when he was not forthcoming about it they shot him on his right leg and dragged him out of the house to their waiting vehicle.  

The kidnappers were yet to contact the family to make any demands as at the time of this report.

Minafuro Jumbo hails from Georgekiri Community in Jumbo Major House, while Lawrence Green hails from Green’s Iwoama in Green Major House, all of Bonny kingdom.

The corpse of the slain policeman (name withheld), a Corporal, has been deposited at the Ashes to Ashes mortuary while the injured Sergeant (name withheld) was receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in Bonny.  

Police Patrol Team ambushed by criminals, engaged in gunfight

A police source, who preferred not to be named as he was not in a position to speak on the issue, told Kristina Reports that the policemen in the patrol vehicle when contacted about the incident raced to the victim’s house but were told he had been taken away through the Coconut Estate waterside.

It was on their way to check out the waterside that they were ambushed by the kidnappers, whose reinforcement were already at the waterside.

The dead policeman was said to be the last to disembark from the vehicle and was hit by a hail of bullets, while the driver of the van was hit in the groin by a bullet.

The kidnappers later allegedly pulled the body of the policeman to a nearby bush where they reportedly sprayed him with more bullets to ensure he was dead before making away with their quarry.

Kidnappers Cut Power to Operate in the Dark

In another development, emerging facts reveal that the kidnappers also cut off power from the street lights along the Coconut Estate Road in order to ensure the area was dark thus throwing the whole area into darkness.

The Bonny Utilities Company (BUC) that manages the electricity and water supply in the community was unable to confirm if the power in the area was cut off during the incident.

The Community Relations Coordinator of BUC, David Allison said there was no report of such but will check the status of the power facility in the area.

The Nigeria Police was yet to make a statement on the issue as, according to a senior officer in the Bonny Division who preferred anonymity, they were still investigating and would come up with a statement later.

Time to Start Profiling Residents, Improve Security – Youth Federation

Speaking with Kristina Reports at the crime scene, acting Leader of the Bonny Youths Federation (BYF), Tamuno-Opubo Wilcox expressed worry that emerging facts indicate the criminals had local help, raising the alarm that it was high time a proper profiling of residents of the community was done to ascertain who and who were living in the area, adding that relevant stakeholders must step up action to improve security in the area.