THE abduction of the Head of Department of Information Communications and Technology Unit of the Imo State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Owerri at the weekend is now a source of controversy.The abduction of Mrs. Pauline Onyeka according to sources, occurred when she was returning from work. While the police said yesterday that she had not been released, an INEC official disclosed that she had regained her freedom.As at press time, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr. Linus Nwaiwu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), told The Guardian that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Maishainu and the entire command were yet to receive any information that the victim had been freed. Though he confirmed that he (Nwaiwu) got the information yesterday, he quickly disclosed that there was no discussion in the meeting between the CP and some top police officers that Onyeka had been released by her captors. He said: I just got to know about it now. We are coming out from a meeting with the CP now. I can tell you that the command is not aware that she has been rescued, although our command is working hard to ensure that she is rescued. But INECs Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Chinedu Onyeji, told The Guardian that the woman had been released by the captors, declining further comments. He said: She has been released. The police are handling that matter. It was not known if she paid ransom before she was freed.Sources told The Guardian that she may have been abducted in order to disclose how the Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines were manipulated. Meanwhile, youths under the aegis of Anambra Central Youth Forum (ACYF), have condemned what they described as sponsored media report against one Mrs. Christy Okoye, who they claimed, was falsely reported to have dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The youth body in a statement read out to journalists in Awka yesterday, cautioned politicians to be wary of their actions and pronouncements.Also when contacted, Okoye, who has been keeping a tab on the final decision of the PDP on who bears their torch in the central zone of the state, expressed displeasure over the misleading report. She admitted that she had restrained herself from direct comments on the offending report but had to change her mind when it was being cited within her party. A statement by Tony Chidebelu and Cletus Amadike as chairman and secretary said Okoye, a former director with First Bank Plc, should not have her senatorial ambition jeopardised because some persons were afraid of her towering profile.They stated that the report that she had dumped her party and ambition was total falsehood and suspected to have been played up for selfish political gains by some people they refused to name. Chidebelu told journalists that the forum remained an unbiased, friendly and political conscious group that was only out to create a level playing ground for all so as to encourage the emergence of informed and quality representatives. Okoye in her reaction said she had no reason to contemplate quitting, as according to her: I have received no fewer than 200 calls from friends and professional colleagues from all parts of the world who wanted to know what happened. She said that she had no reason to defect from PDP to any other party, much less APGA.
Click here to read full news..
