by ‘Jola Sotubo

 A dredging firm in Bayelsa state has reported the kidnapping of five of its workers.

The workers  attached to the  dredging firm, BEKS KIMSE Nig. Ltd, were kidnapped by gunmen along the creek of Opuama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

According to reports, the kidnappers are demanding N30 million ransom before their captives would be released. The dredging firm is handling the shore protection and reclamation work at the riverside Opuama town.

The project, it was learnt, is being sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to save the erosion troubled community.

Though information about the alleged kidnap of the workers was sketchy, a community source said that they were seized in the early hours of Friday.

It was discovered that the abducted workers identified as Inoku Godwin, Sam Ede, Jackson Ibani, among others, are from Bayelsa and Rivers states.

They (gunmen) were said to have sporadically shot into the air to scare away the natives from coming to the aid of the workers.

An indigene of the area said: “The workers were seized by the gunmen who stormed the dredger in a speedboat and disappeared with their victims whose whereabouts are unknown.”