Gunmen Reportedly Kidnap Diezani Allison-Madueke's Brother

Unidentified gunmen in the early hours of Thursday kidnapped Joseph Agama, the younger brother to Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke, Police sources say.

Police Spokesman for Bayelsa Command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the development on Thursday. He said that the command got a report shortly after the incident happened. According to Butswat, the police received a distress call on Thursday from the victim’s father, Maxwell Agama.

Butswat said that the incident occurred at about 12.30 am on Thursday at Yenaka Community, a coastal settlement in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa state. Community sources said that the armed gunmen off with the victim to an unknown destination after abandoning their original boat.

Family sources said that the kidnappers were yet to establish contact or demand ransom. It will be recalled that a sister to the minister, Osiyo Agama, was kidnapped in October 2014 in Port Harcourt and later rescued by a combined team of Joint Task Force and Department of State Security Services.

Diezani who is known as a powerful minister in President Goodluck Jonathan cabinet and widely believed to be the most corrupt could afford to pay ransom requested by kidnappers who have now made a habit of abducting members of her family.

Recently her donation of N70 million to the Bayelsa chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently causing crisis in the party that crisis led to the suspension of Col. Sam Inokoba as state chairman of the party. Diezani is also at the centre of controversial award of pipeline surveillance contracts to militiamen and ethnic warlords across Nigeria.

Last week ex-militants shortchanged in the process staged a protest led to the deaths of an ex-militant in the hands of anti-riot policemen in Yenagoa.

In Lagos, a group led by Yoruba militia leader, Gani Adams staged a protest in Lagos city that resulted in attack on campaign billboards of oppression figures and harassment of innocent members of the public, the protest caused panic and confusion. Mr Adams also stated that his group had just been awarded pipeline surveillance contract.