TELL Magazine

Five days after the abduction of a factional chairman of the Benin Depot branch of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, in Edo State, Abdul-Hamid Saliu Egele, his kidnappers on Friday opened ransom negotiation with the family, demanding ₦80 million for his release. Egele, popularly called Baba Petrol, was on Monday evening around 7 pm, kidnapped in front of his Jattu (near Auchi) residence in Etsako West local government area of Edo State in a vicious encounter which claimed the lives of two of his drivers.

According to a family source who spoke in Auchi, “The kidnappers contacted the family this morning (Friday) and they are demanding for ₦80m before he will be released. That is the development as at today, and this is the first time they are contacting the family since on Monday evening when he was kidnapped in front of his gate after closing from work”.
An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, had told journalists that the incident happened when Egele was returning home after the day’s business, and was waylaid by the gunmen. According to the source, “The gunmen ambushed the IPMAN chairman with two vehicles without plate numbers and fired at his jeep and killed his driver. He said they succeeded in taking their target away after over-powering his security aides.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Bello Kontongs, a superintendent of police, SP, who earlier confirmed the death of two drivers, however said the Command was yet to get any new development in the kidnap saga and that the family had not informed the police of any contact with them.