By Emma Una, Calabar
A 4-year old boy, Effiong Edet has been abducted at the Ekorinim axis of Calabar, the Cross River State Capital by the hoodlums who raided the community in an Audi car with a concealed car registration number.
The kidnapers struck at about 8:30 pm on Wednesday while the local vigilante members, majority of whom are football lovers were preoccupied with watching the Arsenal match against Turkish football club in the on-going European league.
The gang which is said to specialise in kidnapping children of Kindergarten and nursery school age, stormed Ikot Onim for a victim and on arrival at the community, drove to Mr. Edet’s compound , Effiong’s father where they sighted the boy and his friends playing around while his mother was selling fried yam.
The hoodlums which our source said did not have a target in mind first attempted to whisk away a six-year old boy identified as Joseph, who strongly resisted his assailants by crying and biting one of the kidnappers on the hand causing them to abandon him and then swiftly seizing Edet whom they bundled into their car and sped off.
Since most able bodied residents of the area were busy watching the football match, there was no one to go after the kidnappers. “By the time we got to hear what had happened, the boys had gone far and besides, there was no available car to go after them.”, the father of the kidnapped boy said.
The matter, the father said was immediately reported at State Housing Police Station, Calabar where the police demanded for the photograph of the 4-year old child to enable them carry out investigations, assuring Mr. Edet and his wife that the perpetrators will soon be apprehended.
At press time, no ransom had been demanded just as family sources said no contact had been established with the suspects.
When contacted, the state Polic Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey said the police authorities were working to rescue the victim without any ransom paid, as Junior’s father was a worker earning just N6, 000 per month as security man.
