Gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, on Friday abducted the Chairman, Odi Compensation Funds Disbursement Committee in Bayelsa State, Prof. Zibokere Daukiye, the police said.
Police spokesman in the state, Mr Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa on Saturday.
The Police Public Relations Officer said, “In the early hours of Friday, some unknown gunmen stormed the residence of Professor Zibokere Daukiye, the Chairman of Odi Compensation Fund Disbursement Committee, at Odi community, in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area.
“The unknown gunmen abducted him, whisked him to a waiting speedboat and sped off to an unknown destination.
“A manhunt has been launched by a combined team of Marine Police, anti-kidnapping unit and JTF to rescue the victim and arrest the abductors.”
NAN reports that the development has raised anxiety among residents of Odi, which was in 2014, given N15bn as compensation for its invasion by federal troops during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.
The community dragged the Federal Government to court for the incident and was awarded N 37.6bn by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.
In compliance with the judgment, the Federal Government approached the community for talks and negotiated the figure down to N15bn.
Consequently, the community constituted a committee to handle the disbursement of the money to its people and appointed Daukiye as its chairman.
