The Pacesetter FM presenter, Chinenye Iwuoha, who was kidnapped by gunmen on Monday, 4th May, have been released.
Chineye Iwuoha was released after her abductors demanded N20m ransom.
The female presenter of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria’s Pacesetter FM, Umuahia, in Abia State, was abducted by gunmen on Monday while she was leaving the Broadcasting House in company with her colleagues.
A source at the radio station said the gunmen trailed the victim, who left the premises in a Hilux van in company with the station’s General Manager, Uche Ndukwu and other workers.
According to the source, the gunmen trailed the FRCN employees on a motorcycle and a Toyota Sienna without being noticed.
It was gathered that the gunmen shot the driver of the vehicle conveying the General Manager and the other employees before abducting Iwuoha.
Those in the car, according to the source, were Chinenye Iwuoha; the GM, Mr Uche Ndukwu; the driver, Kingsley Onyeokuche; and another member of staff, Nnamdi Egwuagu.
The source said, “The gunmen probably thought that Chinenye was the GM as she sat in the back, while Ndukwu sat in front with the driver.”
“They were shouting: ‘Who is the GM’? When they got to the van, they shot the driver in the stomach and whisked Iwuoha away in their vehicle.”
“The gunmen also made away with the valuables of the GM and other staff members, including their laptops.”
The driver, Onyeokuche, was said to have been rushed to an undisclosed hospital, where doctors battled all night to save his life due to massive loss of blood.
We learnt he was later operated on though it was gathered that the driver’s condition was still critical.
“He (Onyeokuche) just came out of the theatre this afternoon (Tuesday, 5th May) and doctors are hopeful that he will pull through,” a source stated.
Moreso, on the release of Chineye Iwuoha, a source at the radio station, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Iwuoha was released unhurt.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Janet Agbede, have also confirmed her release.
The CP said the kidnappers released Iwuoha unconditionally as the police mounted serious pressure on them.
