The Bayelsa State Police Command has rescued a 42-year-old woman, Esther Chinedu, nearly one month after she was abducted from her phone shop in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.
Chinedu was rescued unhurt from a kidnappers’ hideout in Ogumbri Forest, South-Dajo area, during an early-morning operation by security operatives.
The Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, CP Ajao Adewale, disclosed this on Sunday while briefing journalists on the operation.
According to him, the woman was abducted on July 28, 2026, after suspected kidnappers entered her shop under the guise of wanting to buy an item.
Adewale said the command received a distress call about the incident at approximately 7pm and immediately activated its intelligence network to track the kidnappers and locate their victim.
He said intelligence gathered through digital and local sources provided information on the suspects’ movements and their negotiations with Chinedu’s family.
The kidnappers initially demanded N100m as ransom before reducing the amount to N20m, the commissioner said.
Adewale explained that operatives of the command’s Crime Response Squad, led by CSP Chris Mark, relocated to Ogumbri Forest five days before the final operation and began closing in on the kidnappers.
He said the operatives stormed the camp at about 1:45am, rescued Chinedu and arrested one of the suspected kidnappers.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Mark from Akemfa 1 community, was arrested during the operation and allegedly confessed to participating in the abduction.
According to the police commissioner, the suspect explained that the gang had surveyed the area before approaching Chinedu’s shop under the pretence of purchasing food.
“They surveyed the environment and saw that the woman was not sufficiently protected. They abducted her, put her in a vehicle and moved her to the riverside, where she was ferried to the camp,” Adewale said.
He said the operation involved personnel from the Crime Response Squad, the Federal Criminal Investigation Unit and the Marine Department.
The commissioner commended the officers involved, particularly those who endured difficult riverine conditions while tracking the suspects.
He also acknowledged the support of the Bayelsa State Government under Governor Douye Diri for providing logistics for the operation.
Adewale warned criminals operating in the state that the command would continue to pursue them and urged residents to provide useful information to security agencies.
Chinedu’s husband said the period of her captivity was marked by weeks of negotiations, threats and escalating ransom demands.
He said he had travelled to Abia State early on July 28 to buy mattresses when he began receiving strange calls informing him that his wife had been kidnapped.
“I have been in Bayelsa for the past 20 years. I have not had anything kidnapping in Amassoma. Why is it my wife?” he recalled asking himself.
He later contacted one of the callers, who confirmed that his wife had been abducted.
The husband said the Divisional Police Officer subsequently contacted him and told him that two patrol teams had been deployed to his residence along Amassoma Road.
While returning to Bayelsa, he said, the kidnappers called from his wife’s phone and initially demanded N2m, instructing him to transfer N1m each into two accounts.
He said he had only N300,000 in his account at the time and transferred the money to one of the accounts provided.
However, after he arrived in Amassoma, the kidnappers instructed him not to pay into the earlier account. He said one of the suspects subsequently took over the phone and raised the ransom demand to N100m.
The demand was later reduced to N20m after he pleaded with the kidnappers and explained that he could not raise such an amount.
Negotiations continued for days, with the suspects later demanding N3m. The husband said he eventually raised another N1.5m and transferred the money to an account supplied by the kidnappers.
He said about N1.8m was ultimately paid, but the kidnappers continued demanding additional money. The suspects later demanded another N3.5m and promised to release his wife after receiving the payment. The husband said he eventually received a call informing him that the police had rescued Chinedu.
“When they called me and said, ‘Come around and hand over your wife to me,’ that was when I knew the police had carried out their mission,” he said.
He described the period as extremely difficult and said he had to keep their children away from their home for their safety.
The couple’s young son repeatedly asked about his mother, he said, adding that he struggled to explain her prolonged absence.
Chinedu said the kidnappers deceived her before abducting her from her shop.
“They said they wanted to buy something from my shop. Then, as I entered inside, that was when they brought out the gun and carried me,” she said.
She said the kidnappers left her daughter and another woman who were at the shop before taking her away. According to her, she was transported through several boats before reaching the forest camp, although she did not know its exact location.
“There was like two, three days to be one month. And the place was very terrible, very, very terrible,” she said.
The woman said the kidnappers provided food but that she often refused to eat because of her emotional condition.
She said she was not sexually assaulted and was not seriously beaten during her captivity, although one of the kidnappers allegedly hit her once while she was praying.
Chinedu confirmed that the kidnappers initially demanded N100m before reducing the ransom to N20m.
She expressed gratitude to the police and praised the officers involved in the rescue.
“I thank the glory to Almighty God and to you people that rescued me,” she said.
She also prayed for the officers, saying, “May God keep, strengthen and guide them. Also, may all that they want, may God provide it for them.”
The rescue comes as the Bayelsa State Police Command intensifies operations against kidnapping and other criminal activities across the state.
Adewale assured residents that the command would continue working with relevant stakeholders to make the state increasingly difficult for criminals to operate in, while urging residents to support security agencies with timely and credible information.
