Medical doctor kidnapped in Port Harcourt

A medical doctor, Didi Chukwuemeka, has been kidnapped in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital. His armed captors took him away to an unknown destination and they are said to be asking for N50million ransom from his relatives. Read more
The victim was abducted along  NTA  Road, last Thursday evening, while returning home  from work.
Dr. Chukwuemeka, who works with the Rivers State Primary Health Centre, was said to be driving in his car, with his wife and their baby, when the kidnappers accosted  him. A source said the couple had almost reached their destination, before the kidnappers struck.
According to the same source, as they got to the gate of their compound, while  his wife handed their little baby to him, she alighted from the vehicle to open the gate for him to drive in when the suspects, who stormed the scene, brandishing their guns,  prevented him from driving in. They were  said  to have forced him to throw the little baby at his wife, before they drove away with him in the car.
It was gathered that the woman went into coma, as a result of the shock she received from the ugly incident. She was, however, rushed to the hospital where doctors battled to save her life.
According to a source, the woman was still in shock and in  critical condition.
Daily Sun was told how the victim’s wife earlier noticed a vehicle trailing them and informed her husband. She was said to have expressed her fears over the vehicle behind them, but her husband told her that there was no cause for alarm.
But few minutes  later, the kidnappers carried out their ignoble act.  It was gathered  that  before she was rushed to the hospital, the woman  managed to report the incident  at  Police Division, Mgbuoba, Rivers State.
A police source, however, said she bluntly refused  to write a statement  concerning the kidnap incident.
The reporter also learnt that when some detectives assigned to investigate the matter  went to the victim’s house to prevail on his wife to write a statement on how her husband was abducted, she was nowhere to be found.
It was there that they were informed that the shocked woman  had been admitted in a  hospital.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has threatened to go on strike, if its abducted member was not released before tomorrow.
However, the doctors have abandoned  their consulting rooms and trooped  to the streets,  bush and anywhere one could  think of in search of their kidnapped colleague.
Confirming this, the Secretary of NMA, Rivers State chapter, Dr Leloonu Nwibubasa, said they were not on strike yet. He explained that they only abandoned their duty posts, in  search of their abducted colleague. He explained  that  doctors, working at  the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH),  were working full time, while emergency cases were also given  priority attention, by the aggrieved doctors.
He said doctors, by their training were humane, adding that that accounted for their  reason  not totally abandoning their primary duty of saving lives. He condemned what he described as, ‘serial kidnapping of doctors’ in  Rivers  State. According to him, it had been a regular occurrence, but wondered why doctors, who were not politicians should be  the target of kidnappers.
“Even in war time, doctors are not hurt by the soldiers. I wonder why kidnappers, who have fathers, mothers and relatives could go about, capturing people for ransom,” he said. He, however, called for the unconditional release of their colleague.
He described as unreasonable, the 50 million and later, N20million  ransom demanded  by kidnappers. He  also appealed to security agents, to intensify efforts to effect the release of their  abducted colleague.
The Rivers State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Angela Agabe,  confirmed the incident. She said no arrest had been made, adding that the police were on top of the situation.

Culled from Sun newspaper