Residents and the Bayelsa State Chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) have raised concerns on the whereabouts of Beauty Ogere, the abducted mother of a former Coach and skipper of the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia.
Residents said it was a sign of incompetence on the part of the police and other security agencies to allow the 80-year-old woman to be in kidnappers’ den for over 25 days.
They lamented that the silence of the police, the Department of State Security (DSS) and other security agencies was disturbing and asked the security commanders in the state to either free the woman or resign their positions.
Some of the residents derided the security architecture in the state for their lacklustre and alleged unserious attitude on the case of Siasia’s mother.
The whereabouts of the woman and those of kidmapped 66-year-old Florence Donana and her 17-year-old granddaughter, remained unknown.
The victims were whisked away from their Odoni community, Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, on July 15 at about 2am.
Two days after the incident, the kidnappers established contacts with Siasia’s family and demanded N70m to set the victims free.
Siasia, however, begged the kidnappers to set his aged mother free unconditionally saying he was out of job and had no such money to pay them.
But a family member said the kidnappers brought down the ransom from N70m to N50m without consideration to the health of the woman.
The Bayelsa State Chapter of SWAN said it was disturbing that several weeks after her abduction, Ogere Siasia is still being held hostage by suspected kidnappers.
The Chairman of SWAN, Alambo Datonye said: “Nearly a month since the woman’s kidnap on July 15 at her country home at Odoni in Sagbama Local Government Area of the State, the old woman is still languishing in the hands of her abductors.
“This should not happen to anyone talkless of an aged mother of Coach Siasia who brought joy to millions of Nigerians and Bayelsans as a player and a tactician donning the national colors, bringing glory to the country.
“We therefore call on the kidnappers to release Madam Ogere Siasia unconditionally and reunite her with her loved ones.
“We also urge security agencies and government to act swiftly and efficiently to ensure the release of the woman and others that are being held against her will.
“No sane society develops with individuals held against their will, with the perpetrators of this unconscionable act getting away scot free.The pain and trauma the Siasia family is going through is better imagined than experienced.
“As concerned members of the society, SWAN in Bayelsa call on the relevant agencies to be alive to their responsibilities of safeguarding the lives of every citizen and bring to a halt criminal activities such as kidnapping which is antithetical to the very essence of our collective humanity”.