FELIX JEREMIAH, YENAGOA
THE Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Hilary Opara has lauded the efforts of the people of the state for giving the police vital information and the government for financing many trips to the creeks to secure the release of the three Dutch nationals that were kidnapped by gunmen.
The three Dutch nationals, who were kidnapped at Letugbene in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, were released on Saturday night, the police said yesterday.
The police said they adopted high level of professional policing, including engaging a negotiator, to locate and free the victims.
Commissioner of Police Hilary Opara described the operation as delicate, adding that the aim was to rescue the victims alive.
Gunmen, on May 4, kidnapped three Dutch and two Nigerians, who are also naturalised citizens of the Netherlands.
The gunmen, however, released the Nigerians, Femi Soewu and Sunny Ofehe, on Monday evening.
Ofehe, the Founder/Executive Director Hope for Niger Delta Campaign, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) based in the Netherlands, brought the Dutch to Amatu ll in Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State, on a charity mission.
Though the gunmen had demanded N500million, Opara said the police were not aware that any ransom was paid.
The police boss, who spoke in Yenagoa, said the police rescued the victims after pressuring the assailants.
He said the police employed a negotiator to dialogue with the abductors to know the victims’ state of health.
“Through the negotiator, we were able to establish that the victims were hale and hearty while we continued with our undercover policing,” Opara said.
The commissioner said after locating the kidnappers’ hideout, the police moved to the area and barricaded it with gunboats.
“When we found out where they were, we blocked the waterways with our gunboats. So, they had no place to go again. They had no alternative than to release them.
“We made many trips in the water and we were able to know some of their identities.
“It was a delicate operation because our aim was to rescue them hale and hearty.
“It is not something you begin to go and exchange fire. It was professionally done,” Opara said.
He said they were released on Saturday in Ezetu creeks in Southern Ijaw.
The police chief said he brought the victims to his office in Yenagoa at 10pm and handed them over to the Deputy Governor John Jonah after debriefing.
He said they were handed over to the Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, John Groffen, at 11.45pm.
