It took the frantic scrambling of $15,000 or approximately N21 million to end the horrific ordeal of Aganya kidnap victim (name withheld) in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, Kristina Reports has exclusively learnt.
The victim, who was dumped by his abductors at Okpoma waterfront in Burukiri Community in Bonny LGA after the ransom was paid, was conveyed to Ogugumanga (Coconut Estate) waterfront by a good Samaritan boat pilot.
He was then conveyed to the Medical Centre inside the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny by naval personnel stationed at the waterfront where he received medical evaluation and was debriefed by a joint team of security operatives.
Knowledgeable sources told Kristina Reports that the abductors, who had earlier demanded for N28 million, later settled for N20 million but insisted it must be in hard currency, saying N20 million will be too bulky to carry about.
Relatives of the victim had to frantically source for the money after they were sent a video clip of the man suffering inside a dug-out pit, and eventually took it to the hoodlums in Asarama Community in Andoni LGA of the State.
Another source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, dismissed the assertion of the Bonny LGA Chairman, Abinye Pepple that the abductee was released unconditionally, lamenting that the victim’s family painfully coughed out N21 million to save him.
“See, Oga Journalist, forget what they are saying, I can tell you that after the kidnappers sent a video of the man inside a well, with his face badly bruised, obviously from beating he had been receiving, they had no option than to look for the money.”
The source further explained that “the ransom money was taken to them that night of April Fool’s Day at Asarama Community, that was when they agreed to free him, even at that, the next day, which was yesterday (Thursday), they abandoned him at Okpoma waterside”.
“It was a good Samaritan, a boat driver who saw him and brought him to Coconut Estate waterside and handed him over to the Navy personnel there.”
Checks by Kristina Reports revealed that the victim might have been held within the creeks between Coconut Estate and Asarama Community, as the heavy security cordon by a joint security team comprising the Navy, Army and Marine Police made it difficult to move him out towards the Andoni River.
Kristina Reports further learnt from insider sources that the hoodlums that held the victim captive around were a mixture of different ethnic groups including Andoni and Bonny indigenes.
According to sources within the security sector, though the hoodlums appear to have gotten away with the ransom they collected, they were being tracked with a view to apprehending them.
The abduction, which took place on Monday, March 23, 2026 at Aganya Community, shook the entire Bonny LGA, given that the last kidnap incident in Bonny occurred on Sunday, January 26, 2020, which is over five years ago.
Stakeholders have continued to call for a homogenous security architecture that would comprise knowledgeable indigenes and security personnel, forming a synergy to checkmate crime and criminality in the area.
A retired top official of the Department of State Services, Lawrence Pepple had also proposed a community security outfit that provides timely and actionable intelligence to the mainstream security agencies, proper profiling of transport operators in Bonny LGA, and identification/profiling of residences and property owners, amongst others.
He asserted that these measures, if implemented, will go a long way in bridging the gaps in the security sector in Bonny LGA, adding that the economic value of Bonny cannot be overemphasized, thus an LGA that is so important to Nigeria deserves the best of security provision.
On his part, a member of the Bonny Chiefs Council (BCC), Se-Alabo Clinton Dan-Jumbo had raised alarm over the unfortunate demolition of the fence of the famous Bonny National Grammar School without any contingency plan to rebuild it.
He pointed out that in the light of the recent kidnap incident, it becomes worrisome that a school with thousands of students, teachers and other staff can be left vulnerable for such a long period.
A tensed atmosphere continues to hang over Bonny LGA as residents confided in Kristina Reports that there appears to be no hope in sight in terms of assurance of safety.