ELECHI AMADI KIDNAPPED

[degini2]

Our own Elechi Amadi was kidnapped last night, January 05, 2009 at his home (Aluu town) Port Harcourt, southern Nigeria.
Who is responsible for this act and why?

On behalf of the entire world students' body and literary icons the world over, we condemn this act and appeal to the perpetrators of this dastardly act to RELEASE him as soon as possible. He is an asthma patient and needs to be administered of his drugs.

Meanwhile, any known information about the kidnap or the whereabouts of Captain Elechi Amadi and his abductors should please be communicated to this space or emailed to: info@elechiamadi.org

[degini2]

Elechi Amadi is currently the Chairman of the Rivers State Scholarships Board, Port Harcourt southern Nigeria.
He should be released as soon as possible to enable the board pay bursary to Rivers State students in Nigeria and the Diaspora.

[degini2]

Good news!
Elechi Amadi who was kidnapped last night (Jan.05.2009) has just been released this evening (Jan.06.2009) and has since returned to his home.

Thank you to the kidnappers who have listened to the appeal to release our dear Elechi Amadi as soon as possible.

Thanks to the government and people of Rivers State who had outrightly condemned the act.

To the international community - students, literary icons, readers and governments - who had joined us in condemning the act, we say a very big thank you.

And finally to the ultimate, all-knowing, ALMIGHTY GOD, we worship, adore and praise you for the timely intervention and answering our prayers so promptly.
May all glory, honour and adoration be unto you FOREVER!
AMEN.

[degini2]

Our own Elechi Amadi author of "The Concubine", etc was kidnapped last night, January 05, 2009 at his home (Aluu town) Port Harcourt, southern Nigeria.
However, he was released barely 24-hours to his abduction by unknown gunmen. His release came as a welcome development to many well wishers within and outside Nigeria who all had condemned the act.

Capt. Elechi Amadi was released on the evening of January 6, 2009 after being taken hostage by unknown gunmen.

Who were responsible for this act and why?

Culled from http://www.SuperNaija.com

[degini2]

The following quote by Elechi Amadi on MILITANCY in October, 2008.
Culled from Vanguard Newspaper, Oct. 19, 2008.

Let’s look at militancy in the Niger Delta.
Militancy is fine so long as those leading the militants have the intellectual capacity to know where they are going. But, situations where you have a mob ready to pillage and kill, kidnap, then that is debased militancy. An enlightened militancy is one that gets the people aware of their rights and motivates them to fight for their rights, this has nothing to do with weapons and guns but by movements. And you get the same result and even quicker.

Going to kill people, kidnap, we don’t now know who is fighting for the region and who is fighting for his pocket. Though, militancy in the region has got government to be aware of the problem, that was in the early stages. Thereafter, the thing was taken over by brigands. The whole movement has been severely bastardized. The image of militants has worsened. They should go back to what it was before, get enlightened leadership which can now parley strongly with government

Do you support the use of force to tackle the problem of militancy in the region?
Military option at best is a half solution. The real solution is to get down and talk with the genuine militants. Because the way they are carrying on it is not even in the interest of the area. Government has not constructed roads, done this or that, government now says we want to construct road to Bonny, they bring contractors, you kidnap him, you kill some. What type of militancy is that? How can you ever get the attention and facility you want? So what we need is enlightened militancy that abhors violence, kidnapping, murder and the rest of that.

Read full story http://elechiamadi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6

[Ochiagha]

I'm so happy he has been released. Elechi Amadi is a wonderful man and deserves the best in life.

[degini2]

Written by Jimitota Onoyume & Samuel Oyadongha
Wednesday, 07 January 2009
It was another sad commentary in the Niger Delta struggle for justice as criminals, Monday night, abducted one of Africa’s celebrated novelists, 74-year-old Captain Elechi Amadi, at his residence in Aluu community, on the outskirts of Port Harcourt.

But 23 hours after, about 9.40 p.m. last night, he regained his freedom. Family members reluctantly
Image
Novelist, Elechi Amadi
volunteered that he was let free in a bush not far from his Aluu village, from where he trekked home.

His abduction early yesterday immediately attracted condemnations from governors in the Niger Delta and the arts community, describing it as shameful and most embarrassing.

Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Timipre Sylva of Rivers and Bayelsa States respectively while reacting to the kidnap said it was utter criminality that has no relationship with “the genuine struggle of the Niger Delta people for social and economic justice within the Nigerian federation.”

Confirming the development to Vanguard, spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the state, Lt.-Col Sagir Musa, said “the unfortunate event occurred at about 9pm.

“Information at the disposal of the JTF Operation Flush Out indicated that one Captain Elechi Amadi (rtd) was abducted by yet-to-be identified gunmen at about 9.00hrs pm in his home town, Aluu on the outskirt of Port Harcourt.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Rita Inoma Abbey said: “As soon as Police got wind of the kidnap, policemen were quickly deployed to block strategic areas around the neighbourhood. She said she still could not imagine how they fled with the hostage despite the heavy security mounted by the police in the area that night.”

According to her, the kidnappers came in two vehicles — a Toyota Hilux and a Mazda car. At the main entrance to Elechi’s sitting room, they introduced themselves in Ikwerre language, thus giving the impression that they were either his relatives or harmless guests from the neighbourhood.

They were later ushered in. It was while they were inside that it dawned on the household that they were kidnappers. Without any resistance, Elechi reportedly submitted himself and then followed them to their waiting vehicles.

A family source said Elechi was alone with his wife in the house when they came. Innocently, according to the source, the wife opened the door when the gunmen knocked, adding that about three of them entered the house and immediately marched Elechi to his bedroom. The source could not say why they did that but he feared that they might have gone in to force him to part with valuables in the room. The same source said no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction and no ransom had been demanded.

JTF spokesman, Lt.Col Musa, however, believed that “the motive for the abduction is pecuniary,” adding that “all security agencies have been alerted and directed to remain on the alert with a view to apprehending the culprits.”

The army spokesman also called on residents of the state to come forward with information that could assist security operatives track down the kidnappers.

“JTF and indeed all other security agencies can’t fight crime alone. We need the support and cooperation of members of the public in the area of information gathering, dissemination and sharing to effectively and easily fight criminal acts in our area of responsibility,” he said.

Abduction shameful, says Gov Amaechi

Condemning Elechi Amadi’s abduction, Governor Amaechi said it was shameful and an insult on the psyche of the people.

Speaking through his acting press secretary, Mr. Blessing Wekina, the Governor wondered why anyone would do that to a man like Elechi Amadi whose works have attracted so much fame to the state and the Ikwerre ethnic nationality.

Amaechi said: “The Rivers State Government has condemned in strong terms, the abduction of Captain Elechi Amadi, novelist, playwright and educationist who was picked from his country home yesterday by unknown gunmen.

“It is an unwelcomed shame that while our intellectual properties are celebrated all over the world by their contemporaries and those who appreciate greatness, here we make them objects of shame, humiliation and disgrace by people who call themselves Niger Delta Freedom Fighter.

“We, therefore, appeal to those who are holding him to release him immediately and unharmed for him to continue his duties of educating the younger generation which he has an undying passion for.”

The statement reminded the kidnappers that “Elechi is an asthmatic patient and this is not the best of seasons for them, we therefore urge that he should not be denied access to his medications.”

It diminishes Niger Delta struggle—Sylva

Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State in his own reaction denounced the abduction, saying it diminishes the Niger Delta struggle for justice, and betrays public sympathy for the genuine grievances of the people of the region.

In a statement issued yesterday in Yenagoa by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Doifie Ola, Sylva said: “Elechi Amadi is a world literary figure and an icon of the Niger Delta. A renowned writer, he is one of those the world looks up to in trying to appreciate the social reality in the Niger Delta.

“This treatment meted out to him certainly diminishes the Niger Delta struggle before the world. It also reduces us as a people and must be condemned in the strongest term possible.”

The governor in the statement denounced the kidnap as utter criminality, saying: “Never in the history of Nigeria has the Niger Delta had it as good as in the President Umaru Yar’Adua era. With a serving Nigerian Vice President from the region, a Niger Delta ministry, and a couple of ministers from the Niger Delta, Yar’Adua has demonstrated sincere commitment to resolution of the age long Niger Delta question.

“That question was an ignoble sore at the heart of the Nigerian society and a grave dilemma that confronted the Yar’Adua presidency. He has faced the problem with the passion of a statesman and we are happy with what we have seen.”

Sylva believed what the Niger Delta needs now is peace to reap the benefits of “Yar’Adua’s statesmanship and rare courage to acknowledge the Niger Delta question and take a step of faith to solve it.”

The governor appealed to the youths of the Niger Delta to eschew criminality in all forms and embark on activities that would make them reap from the wind of change.

“It would be bad for us if our leaders of tomorrow let these opportunities pass us by. For us in Bayelsa State, our doors are open to receive all our children who share our vision of change in the Niger Delta,” he said.

Tension in Aluu, Amadi’s village

Meanwhile, tension has continued to mount in the community. Youths and elders who spoke to Vanguard said they could not understand why Amadi whom they described as a very simple and lovable personality could be taken hostage.

“He is not a politician, neither is he a rich man. Captain Elechi is a very simple man and a model of humility in the whole of Ikwerre land. You can see that his house is simple and is not even fenced round. This is just an instance of humility.

“What does anybody think he can get from Elechi by kidnapping him,” many of them wondered while talking with Vanguard.

It’s shameful, Rivers ANA Chairman

Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Mr. Miesoinuma Minima, described the kidnap as shameful, saying it was the height of evil for anybody to even think of kidnapping Elechi, noting that the abduction was a shame and insult on the psyche of people.

Meanwhile, when the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Bala Hassan, visited the family yesterday morning he assured that security operatives would not sleep until they track down those behind the abduction.
Captain Elechi Amadi who would be 75 by April this year is the chairman of the Rivers State Scholarship Board.

He is among the first generation of African writers with many celebrated books to his credit. They include: The Concubine, Great Ponds, The Slave, Isiburu, Pepper Soup, The Woman of Calabar and Sunset in Biafra , a war diary. His philosophical work is Ethics in Nigerian Culture

He was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by the Rivers State University of Science and Technology in 2003.

[degini2]

Following the release of Capt. Elechi Amadi, a suspect who confessed to be involved in the kidnap has been arrested this afternoon at Aluu town and is giving the police useful information as to the whereabouts of the others. The suspect (name withheld) happens to be an indigene of Aluu town where Elechi Amadi hails from.

Further investigations revealed that one of suspect happens to be a son of one of Elechi Amadi's closest friends. The nabbed suspect confessed that the former is the brain behind the kidnap operation. Close sources lamented that the boy is a close friend to the family as his late grandfather is one of Elechi Amadi's closest friends. Besides the boy comes every now and then to Elechi to obtain signed reference letters, etc. According to them, it baffles many why such a boy who is so close would do such a thing. At the moment, he is at large since he was found out to be involved in the kidnap.

They wanted N300 million...but I was released according to them because I was truly honest with them.

Elechi Amadi speaks...see video on SuperNaija.com http://www.supernaija.com/video/video/s ... eo%3A13134

View LIVE PICTURES FROM ELECHI AMADI's HOME... Go to http://elechiamadi.org/kidnapp.html

Elechi Speaks ...view the Video at http://www.supernaija.com/video/video/s ... o%3A13134#

[Raph Mutton]

This is too bad to be true. But why would anyone kidnap a man like him?

[Obonti]

Is he a politician to be kidnapped?
In Nigeria, only politicians (the selfish ones) deserve to be kidnapped. They steal our money and starch them in foreign banks to be used by who? Imagine one man having billions of naira in his account...what for? Thieves! One day the law will catch up with them all... if not, God dey.

Sorry jare, our own icon...am sure they didnt know it was you. I pray you live long to help Nigeria regain its lost glory.