ABDUCTORS OF RHODES-VIVOUR FAMILY DEMAND N300M

• Police,
vigilance group comb Edo

KIDNAPPERS who last Friday
abducted the wife, daughter and driver of a Supreme Court Justice, Bode
Rhodes-Vivour, have established contact with the family.

The Guardian learnt that the
abductors have demanded a ransom of N300 million from the family of
Rhodes-Vivour before they could release their victims.

The victims were said to be
travelling to Edo State ahead of the justice’s daughter’s wedding when they
were accosted by unknown gunmen along Benin-Sagamu Expressway and taken to an
unknown location.

Meanwhile, operatives of the
Nigeria Police led by the Commissioner of Police, Folusho Adebanjo and members
of the vigilance groups in villages around Ovia North-East Local Council have
relocated to the Ekiadolor/Ugbogui forest, the possible zone where suspected
kidnappers may be keeping Mrs. Rhodes-Vivour and her daughter.

The Guardian gathered that the
police boss in Edo State has been under pressure from Police Headquarters to
locate the victims and rescue them alive. Also, hunters in the villages, who
are believed to be very familiar with the terrain, have reportedly joined in
the search, including the state’s Neighbourhood Watch.

When The Guardian visited the
Neighbourhood Watch office yesterday, the head of the group, Maj.-Gen. Charles
Omoregie (rtd), was said to be in a meeting with the Commissioner of Police
apparently on the matter.

The leader of the hunters in
Ekiadolor, identified as High Priest Nasogiarhu Edema, said they have resolved
to take their destiny in their hands in making the Ekiadolor/ Ugbogui axis of
the Benin-Lagos uncomfortable for kidnappers and criminals alike.

Several lawyers had appealed to
the abductors to release their captives unhurt. One of the lawyers, a senior
advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, said the Justice is a judicial
officer and not a business person and wondered where they expect him to get
ransom money from.

“Justice Rhodes-Vivour, a
well-acclaimed jurist, is merely a judicial officer, not an entrepreneur. His
wife is a legal practitioner, not a businesswoman. Only on September 13, 2012
his son, Rotimi, was also abducted with a N30 million ransom demand. Why is
this madness targeted at a peace-loving and hardworking jurist who had served
Nigeria meritoriously?

“Is this persecution by faceless
merchants and buccaneers masterminded by politicians who have vowed to make
Nigeria ungovernable? Or is it by mere kidnappers for the sake of ransom money
alone? If so, where do they expect a serving justice of the apex court to cough
out ransom money? Whatever angle we view it from, the fact remains that Nigeria
is fast descending into the abyss of systemic annihilation. It is more and more
adorning the toga of one of the most insecure places on planet earth. We are
becoming the laughing stock of the international community. For God’s sake,
kidnappers, or whoever you are, release immediately and unhurt Justice Bode
Rhodes-Vivour’s lovely wife, daughter and driver. I plead with you in the name
of God. Don’t discourage patriotic Nigerians from giving all to their
fatherland”, he pleaded.

Similarly, Festus Keyamo appealed
to them to release their victim unhurt. He said: “The kidnappers should know
that Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour is the wrong target of this dastardly act. He
does not deserve this agony. Again, the Justices of the Supreme Court have not
contributed in any way to the destruction of our values that has pushed young
men and women into this kind of unholy enterprise. Rather, they have indeed
played a constructive role in preserving and sustaining our democracy.

Therefore, I passionately appeal
to the kidnappers, wherever they may be, in the name of the God they serve, to
release unharmed the wife and daughter of Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour.”