Kidnapped lawyer, Egedegbe, freed in Ughelli, Delta State

On 2 February, a legal practitioner, Mr Stewart Egedegbe, based in Ughelli, Delta State, who had been kidnapped on the night of 30 January, was freed, after three days in captivity. No details were available regarding the conditions or circumstances under which he regained his freedom, but Egedegbe described his experience as “a helish 72 hours stay” in the kidnappers’ den.

However, prior to his release, his colleagues in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ughelli chapter, had on 1 February, staged a protest over his kidnap, marching to the headquarters of the Ughelli Police Area Command and the Palace of the Ovie of Ughelli, HRM Oharisi III. The lawyers carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Say No to Insecurity in Delta”, “We must discourage kidnapping” and “Government should be alive to its responsibility of protecting lives and property”. 

Chief Peter Wanogho, a one-time chairman of the branch who spoke on behalf of the protesters, lamented the state of insecurity in the country which, he said, had become pervasive. In the Niger Delta, particularly, he observed that when the criminal phenomenon of kidnapping started a few years ago, many people misconstrued it to be a legitimate instrument in the struggle for the region’s repossession of its resources. He said government had failed in its duty of ensuring the safety of citizens, especially at the local government level where “security is treated with levity”.