Gunmen, on Saturday morning, kidnapped a ranking official of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The victim, Kingsley Okorafor, was abducted at his home town at Umuadara Umulogho autonomous community in the Obowo Local Government Area of Imo state.
The abduction, our correspondent learnt, had unsettled the villagers, as the people now live in a state of panic.
Confirming the incident, the Traditional Ruler of the community, Patrick Uwalaka, said the development was unfortunate.
A source, who doesn’t want to be named, disclosed that the victim attended a vigil of the Traditional Ruler of Ndihu autonomous community in Obowo LGA, Innocent Anyawu, on Friday night, whose burial is billed to take place Saturday.
The source said, “The NDDC staff was trailed after he left the vigil to his community where he was abducted, while his car was left behind.”
The source further disclosed that the suspects had established contacts with their victim’s family and placed N10m as ransom for his release.
The spokesman for the police in the state, Micheal Abattam, had yet to respond to an inquiry concerning the abduction.