SAN FRANCISCO, May 17, (THEWILL) – The outlawed Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has further indicted the Bayelsa State Police Command as well as Special Adviser on Security to the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Bernard Kenebai, in the alleged N3.45m extortion racket over the purported bid to free some Dutch nationals recently abducted in the state.
THEWILL had exclusively reported how the kidnap of the Dutch nationals had exposed an extortion racket being operated allegedly by the State Police Command and the Governor’s SSA on Security.
Reliable sources who were privy to the incident had alleged that the SSA who ought to have used his offices to mobilise security personnel to rescue the victims allegedly collected N800,000 under the pretext of activating a security squad that is often used by the state government to track kidnappers.
But sources said the squad, which comprises of former ex-militants, was never deployed as it was alleged that the supposed squad was only a plot to steal money from the government coffers.
Impeccable local sources alleged that the SSA Security could retire over N500million as sum released in a bid to track the kidnappers but the truth is that the money was to be shared allegedly among members of the syndicate.
It was also alleged that the police took N2.65m in separate times as bail bond and ‘bribe’ which they said was money to mobilise its men to ‘fish out’ the kidnappers and to rescue the hostages, who have since been released, thus bringing the amount allegedly collected by the police and SSA to the governor to N3.45million.
However, as the police and the SSA tried to distance themselves from the ‘racket’, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), came with a damning revelation, saying it can authoritatively confirm that the sum of N20m was paid as ransom to the kidnappers of the three abducted Dutch nationals for their release.
THEWILL cannot independently confirm this but our source revealed that the money paid as ransom to free the hostages was about N10million.
MEND went further to confirm the report of the ‘extortion racket’ saying; “We can also confirm that N3.45million was paid as bribes to the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Hilary Okpara, and also to the Special Adviser on Security to the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr Bernard Kenebai.”
As if that was not enough, the group in a statement signed by its traditional spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, alleged that “This bribe, made to the aforementioned, was to hoodwink the Nigerian public and the world in believing the release of the three kidnapped Dutch nationals, was carried out by a ‘rescue operation’ by the Bayelsa State Police and “facilitated” by a Mr. Berry Negrese, the Chairman of the Dodo River Regional Development Area of Bayelsa State, who himself, made the bribe payments”.
According to the statement, “This desperate action not only showed a confused and embarrassed Government, but also the failure of the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme. “It is rather unfortunate that the Bayelsa State Police Commissioner and the Special Adviser on Security to the Bayelsa State Governor can think they can deceive Nigerians and the world with a phantom rescue operation of the three kidnapped Dutch nationals and denying the payment of a ransom after being bribed.”
Meanwhile, THEWILL can authoritatively report that Mr. Berry Negerese was forceful coerced to address the press in an ‘arrange’ press conference held in Yenagoa to deny the extortion story, failure of which he was threatened with arrest and persecution in the state since he hails from the state.
“Berry didn’t address the press on his own volition. The Commissioner of Police called him to report to the state headquarters after that report went viral. There they forced him to deny the claims of ‘bribe,’ saying they have arrange for him to meet the press.”
Reliable source said that the police authority in the state were reportedly seated with Negerese at the press conference to ensure thathe corrects every negative impression the report might have raised concerning the police and the Bayelsa State government over their alleged involvement in a ‘bribe’ to ‘facilitate’ the freed hostages.
The culpability of the police and authorities of Bayelsa State government forcing Negerese to debunk the report, according to our source, was practically expressed by Negerese during the press conference when he succinctly said he has been under pressure since the extortion story, which embarrassed the authorities, became public.
THEWILL investigation revealed that some reporters including a PR consultant whose services were reportedly retained by the police and the embattled official of the Bayelsa state government to do damage control report, have started distorting facts concerning the abduction and subsequent release of the hostages as measure to wriggle the police and Bayelsa state official from the mess.
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