Four journalists who were kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria last week have been released, according to media reports. The journalists, Wahab Oba, chairman of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ); Adolphus Okonkwo, a zonal secretary for the union; Sylvester Okere, secretary for the Lagos state council; and Sola Oyeyipo, a Lagos-based journalist, were abducted on Sunday 11 July on their way back from a conference in Akwa Ibom state.
As IPI reported at the time, the journalists had been attending a national executive committee meeting of the NUJ. They were returning in a bus when they were waylaid by armed men in three vehicles who boarded the bus and forced the driver to follow their vehicles.
According to Allafrica.com, the kidnappers later contacted NUJ president Mohammed Garba and demanded payment of $1.67 million. They also allowed him to speak to two of the captive journalists, who appeared to be unharmed.
According to information before IPI, the journalists were released unharmed and flew back to Lagos yesterday. One of the journalists, Wahab Oba, told media that the kidnappers moved the journalists from place to place, making it more difficult for the police to track them.
Although the journalists claim no ransom was paid for their release, Oba told the Nigerian Bulletin that the kidnappers had stolen over $20,000 from them.
“We are relieved that the ordeal of these journalists is at an end, and call on the Nigerian authorities to investigate the kidnapping thoroughly and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said IPI Director David Dadge.