TWO Local Council Chairmen in Kogi State, Earnest Abah of Igalamela/Odolu Council and Ropo Asala of Yagba West Council who were reportedly kidnapped by gunmen suspected to be professional kidnappers last Thursday, during which four policemen were killed, have regained their freedom. But in a new twist to the three-day old drama, the wives of the freed council helmsmen were yesterday taken custody by the kidnappers in an undisclosed hide-out in exchange for their husbands.

The killings and abduction occurred at a popular hotel in Kabba, where the abducted chairmen had gone to attend the monthly meeting of council chairmen in the state. The ill-fated monthly meeting, hosted by Kabba-Bunu Council Chairman, Nathaniel Taiwo, which kicked off on Wednesday, was followed by a get-together party, which lasted till the early hours of Thursday. The party was said to have been attended by 17 out of the 21 chairmen in the state, with the exception of the chairmen of Ibaji, Koton-karfe, Ajaokuta and Olamaboro.

Government House sources told to The Guardian in Lokoja, yesterday that the kidnapers had demanded an undisclosed amount of money as ransom before the abducted chairmen could be released. As part of the conditions attached to their freedom, the source disclosed, the abductors had directed that only the wives of the chairmen should deliver the ransom to 'site'. It was not ascertained who paid the ransom, but the Lugard House in Lokoja in the past three days has been unusually busy, believed not to be unconnected to the kidnapping.

"They kept to their words that the chairmen would be received at the exchange venue, but as soon as they had the ransom, they changed their mind and asked the wives to stay behind while they let go their husbands," disclosed the source. It was gathered that the alleged kidnappers were said to have asked for more money as they said the ransom delivered was short of N10 million each out of the agreed term.

Member, Kogi State House of Assembly, Philip Orebiyi, confirmed the release of the Abah and Asala to The Guardian at the Lugard House yesterday, saying "it is not safe to say anything further now until we have crossed the next hurdles".

He, however, declined when asked of the whereabouts of the released chairmen. Asked what he meant by the "next hurdles" Orebiyi simply walked away.

There was jubilation in Egbe, hometown of Asala when the news of his release was received. A member of his family also confirmed that he had put a call through to his aged mother, confirming his release. The residence of the chairman was, however, still calm.

It will be recalled that three of the police orderlies attached to the chairmen were killed by the kidnappers who arrived the hotel at about 7am in two Toyota Hilux vehicles, belonging to the Nigerian Police Force armed with sophisticated weapons including sub-machine guns, just as one of the kidnappers was also felled by police bullets.

Besides, the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of Okene Local Council, Yahaya Karaku, simply identified as Yakubu, and his driver, sustained serious injuries and were admitted at the Specialist Hospital in Lokoja, where they are still receiving treatment.

One of the Council Chairmen who narrated his ordeal to journalists in Lokoja on condition of anonymity said he was in the bathroom when he heard movement at the back of his room and decided to peep through the window from where he saw some of his colleagues who were met at the entrance on their way out of the hotel and had been directed by the kidnappers to kneel down and raise up their hands in submission.

According to him, a police orderly had earlier fired and killed one of the kidnappers, who responded swiftly with their more sophisticated weapons and killed three of the orderlies, while two aides of the Okene council chairman, were hit by stray bullets.

The kidnappers were said to have used the public address system in the Police marked vehicle to call the remaining chairmen in the hotel to come out and threatened to kill anyone who tried to prove smartness. The chairmen, he admitted, had little choice but to come out of their rooms and were directed to lay face down on the floor.

"At this point, I sneaked out of my room through the terrace and jumped over the wall of the hotel into a nearby bush and that was where I stayed till they eventually departed in some of the vehicles belonging to my colleagues after abandoning their own vehicles. It was indeed a harrowing experience," revealed the council Chairman.

The state Acting Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Magaji, later told journalists that the kidnappers were coming from Ekiti State, where they had kidnapped some people whom they moved from their own vehicles into other vehicles, adding that the two police vehicles used by the gang had been recovered by the police, as efforts were on to trace the kidnappers.

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