The Delta State Government has denied paying any N500 million as ransom for the release of Mr. Ebikeme Clarke, son of Chief Edwin Clarke, who was kidnapped last Wednesday and released on Sunday.
The state government denied the allegation in a statement signed by Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay, secretary to the Delta State Government, which was obtained by huhuonline.com on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the state government is aware of a rumour being spread in a statement signed by Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), alleging that Clarke conspired with the Police to be kidnapped in order to swindle Delta State of N500 million.
On behalf of the government, Macaulay denied such allegations and described it as ridiculous.
“The Delta State Government wishes to state categorically that it did not part with any money as ransom for the release of Mr. Ebikeme Clarke. It is the policy of the government not to pay or encourage the payment of ransom by families as this encourages more kidnappings”, Macaulay said.
Macaulay reckoned that there had been many cases of high-profile kidnappings in the state where the victims had been kept much longer than Clarke, yet the government had never paid any ransom before. He thus pointed out that Clarke’s abduction was no special case to require such a huge expenditure from the government.
“Secondly the volume of money being mentioned, N500 million, makes the allegation very foolish for anyone who knows how government runs and the logistics of that volume of fund movement, considering the fact that there were only two working days during the period”, Macaulay explained.
The statement alleged that MEND released the statement alleging the conspiracy simply to malign the state government, Chief E. K. Clarke and the amnesty programme of the Federal Government.
Concluding the statement, the Delta State Government cautioned the Niger Delta people, especially those still hiding under the umbrella of MEND that the tactics of blackmail, falsehood, rumour-mongering and intimidation in the region will not work.
It observed that the region is in a phase of infrastructure and human capital development catch up, which will ultimately ensure peace in the region.
