Kidnapped Bayelsa Guardian reporter regains freedom

After spending five days in captivity, the kidnapped Bayelsa State Correspondent of the Guardian Newspaper, Mr Julius Osahon, has been released.

Osahon, a former chairman of Federated Correspondents’ chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Bayelsa State Council, was seized alongside others by unknown gunmen along the Ewhreni stretch of the East-West road last Sunday while travelling in a commercial passenger bus owned by a private transport firm to Delta State.

The driver of the bus was reportedly shot dead by the armed men who whisked away some of the passengers including the Guardian reporter.

It was, however, learned that he (Osahon) was set free Friday night and taken to Ughelli police station for debriefing before reuniting with his family.

Though it was not clear how Osahon regained freedom from his abductors, a source said “our kidnapped colleague, Mr Osahon working in Bayelsa State has been released in Ughelli, Delta State. He is in stable condition.”

It would be recalled that his captors had earlier demanded N5m ransom for his release.

But they (kidnappers) angrily increased the ransom to N50m because of the wide media coverage his abduction generated.

The ransom was however reduced to N3m as the negotiation for his release intensified. It is however not clear if any ransom was paid for his release.

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