An employee of the Delta Printing and Publishing Company Limited (DPPCL), publishers of The Pointer titles, Mrs Patricia Amitaye, has died in the hands of her abductors. This was as another kidnapped housewife, Mrs Carol Botosan, escaped from her captors after nine days in their den. Amitaye, mother of three, worked in the commercial department in the Warri Bureau Office of the newspaper.
It was gathered that she was kidnapped on Eku Road in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State on her way from Eku to Warri. According to a dependable source close to the family, she was being driven in a Toyota Hilux van when they were attacked by five gunmen.
It was learnt that her captors demanded money, but when she had no money to offer them on the spot, she was dragged away into the bush, leaving her driver behind. The driver later raised the alarm and also made contacts with her husband and other relations. It was further learnt that when the bush was later combed, they found her lifeless body.
The visibly frightened woman, who escaped, told our correspondent that her abductors left her alone to herself believing that with her hands and legs chained together she could never escaped. But, according to her, since she knew where they usually kept the key to the padlock, she struggled to the point, got the key and unlocked the padlock and walked out of the bush to safety.
According to her jubilant husband, Mr Isaac Botosan, his wife, on getting into town, approached a woman and explained her predicament. Botosan said his wife used the woman’s phone to call him and described her location at Orhughworhum. The man then went to the location with armed policemen to pick her up.
They drove straight home to their residence in Warri to the waiting hands of jubilant Okere community residents. Four armed men stormed Okere community on April 15 and abducted Mrs Botosan. But the youth of the community caught a member of the gang while trying to escape with their Toyota Venta car and handed him over to the police. The suspect then led the anti-kidnap team to the home of their leader simply identified as “Biggy” at Agbarho community where some arrests were made but the three fleeing hoodlums are still at large.
