Description

A woman was abducted along Echue Street, Mile 2, Diobu Street, in Port Harcourt by unidentified gunmen. According to PM News, the abducted woman is the wife of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers.
PM News reported that the victim was returning from a church service when she was abducted by suspected commercial kidnappers in her Sports Utility Vehicle.
According to the source, the suspects escaped through Echue waterfront with the woman into the creeks, with a motorised fibre (‘speed boat’), after police gave them a chase, forcing them to abandon the car.

Analysis: CWC analysis of similar events in Rivers State show that there is going to be an increase in kidnapping incidents in and around the Niger Delta. Some of these incidents may be perpatrated by commercial kidnappers who would use the ensuing political tensions as a smokescreen, while other such incidents may be politically motivated. The fact that the kidnapped woman is related to a party official raises a lot of questions.