The family of a kidnapped retired Director of the Post-Primary Education Board in Delta State, Emmanuel Ofobrukueta, has called on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, to urgently intervene and ensure his rescue as the kidnappers have refused to release him after collecting ransom.
According to available information, he has been in the den of his kidnappers for over two months despite paying the requested ransom.
Addressing news men on Friday in Abuja on behalf of the family, their solicitor, Frank Tietie, Principal Partner of Forthright Chambers and Executive Director of Citizens Advocacy for Social Economic Rights, expressed distress that the victim appeared to have been forgotten hence the need to plead with the IGP to directly take interest in the matter with a view to ensuring his immediate.
In a letter addressed to the IGP through their solicitor, the family expressed optimism that the immediate intervention of Egbetokun would go a long way in securing the victim’s release and as well put an end to the alarming cases of kidnapping for ransom in the state.
According to the letter, Ofobrukueta, who retired six years ago, was seized by armed men on January 12, 2025, right in front of his residence in Mosogar, near Sapele in Delta State.
The abduction occurred a day before he was scheduled to travel to Asaba, the Delta State capital, to process and collect his pension payments.
The family feared that a coordinated network of close associates, ransom handlers, and the actual kidnappers might be deliberately prolonging his captivity.
Their concerns, according to them, stem from suspicious developments surrounding the ransom payment, which was reportedly made just two days after his abduction.
The family claimed that intelligence reports from a private tracking company also pointed to the involvement of persons close to the victim.
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“The Delta State Police Command appears to be overwhelmed by the kidnappers’ tactics in this case,” the letter stated, and urged the IGP to take special action to unravel the abduction and secure the release of Ofobrukueta.
The family counsel explained that they were now counting on the direct intervention of the IGP to dismantle any criminal network responsible for the abduction and ensure justice is served.
According to Tietie: “The case should be escalated and given the appropriate attention it requires.
“We think that he would be rescued if the police high Command could deploy sufficient resources in terms of manpower and tracking his movements to the Delta State Police Command.
“Our frustration is that they seem to have abandoned the case.
“That is why we are appealing.
“The fact that ransom has been paid through someone when it was demanded, this was an ample opportunity to bust the kidnap gang.”
The lawyer said the victim does not deserve to be abandoned to his fate having served the country meritoriously.
He stressed the urgent need to address the growing menace of kidnapping in the state and expressed worries that when victims were not politically exposed persons or prominent in the society, their cases do not often get expeditious treatment.
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