Delta Govt Denies Paying Ransom For Edwin Clark’s Son’s Release

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Not too long ago, the Movement for the Emancipation for Niger Delta, MEND, alleged that the Delta State Government paid the sum of N500 million as ransom to secure the release of the kidnapped son of prominent Ijaw leader, Edwin Clark, Ebikeme, who regained freedom few days ago.

The group also alleged that the kidnap was stage-managed by Ebikeme and the police to swindle the state government, a claim Delta State Government has refuted.

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Reacting to the allegations in a press statement released on Tuesday and signed by the Secretary to the Delta State Government, Ovuzorie Macaulay, it was stressed that “it is the policy of the Government not to pay or encourage the payment of ransom by families as this encourages more kidnappings.”

The statement also emphasised that, “the government did not pay any ransom” to secure the release of Clark’s son just as it has never paid for other “previous cases of high profile kidnappings that the victims have been kept much longer than that of Ebikeme.”

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Macaulay explained that ‘the volume of money being mentioned, N500m makes the allegation very foolish for anyone who knows how government runs and the logistics of that volume of fund movement, considering the fact that there were only two working days during the period.”

He concluded that, “the Delta State Government wishes to advise the people of the Niger Delta especially those still hiding under the umbrella of MEND, that the tactics of blackmail, falsehood, rumour mongering and intimidation in the region are gone. The region is in a phase of infrastructure and human capital development catch up which will ultimately ensure peace in the region. Let all hands be on deck.”

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