Mr Samson Raphael, an Immigration officer, has lauded the Nigerian Navy for rescuing him and three of his colleagues from kidnappers in Rivers.
Raphael, a Senior Immigration Inspector from the Rivers Marine Command, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in Onne, Rivers, was abducted alongside three others by suspected militants on Tuesday.
The other victims are Peter Ofili, Asuquo Ededet and Hafiz Moyi. The officer, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Thursday that they were kidnapped while travelling on board a speed boat.
“We left Bonny Island onboard a speed boat for an official assignment in Onne. On our way to Onne, we were apprehended by gunmen at about 8 a.m. on Tuesday. “Immediately the kidnappers stopped our boat, they pointed their guns at us and threatened to shoot if we did not cooperate.
“Thereafter, they forcefully took us and sailed the sea for about 10 endless hours before we arrived at their camp.” He said that they were kept in a hut after they arrived at the kidnappers’ camp in a dense mangrove forest.
“Later, our abductors told us that they will contact our superiors to demand our ransom. They threatened to bury us alive if NIS and our families failed to cooperate.
“Thankfully, they were unable to carry out their threats due to the timely intervention by troops of the Nigerian Navy that raided the camp on Wednesday.
“On the day of our rescue, we heard heavy gunshots and immediately laid flat on the floor. We suspected that such superior firepower could come only from security agencies.
“Afterwards, we saw naval operatives shooting and pursuing the fleeing captors. Later some navy personnel came to where we were held and rescued us,” he said.
Capt. Adegoke Ebo, Executive Officer, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, said the navy had immediately deployed gunboats after learning of the abduction.
