by Deji Abiodun
Five months after the younger sister of Nigeria’s petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was kidnapped in Port Harcourt, gunmen have abducted the minister’s brother.
The peace of Yenaka, the paternal hometown of the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke in Yenagoa local government area of Bayelsa State was Thursday violated by unknown gunmen who kidnapped her nephew, Mr. Joseph Agama.
The gunmen stormed the sleepy settlement at about 12:30 am and went straight to their victim’s home.
The primary target, it was however learnt, was Chief Maxwell, Joseph’s father but having missed him they settled for his 20-year-old son.
The gunmen were said to have fired warning shots into the air before whisking away their victim to an unknown destination.
A community source said: “They came at the midnight and took the boy away. We understand that they wanted the father but later settled for the son.
“They are part of the family of the petroleum minister. We don’t know where they took him to and they have yet to state their motive.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr. Asinim Buswatt, confirmed the incident.
He said: “At about 12:30am of today (Thursday), one Mr. Maxwell Agama of Yenaka community reported that his son, one Joseph Agama, age 20 years, was abducted by some unknown gunmen.
“We are still working to know the number of the gunmen that carried out the attack. We don’t know the motive behind it but our men in the marine division have been alerted of the incident and have commenced search with a view to rescue the victim.
