Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted Engr Michael Ogiasa, a cousin to former President Goodluck Jonathan. 

Spokesman of the Bayelsa Police Command, SP Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the incident, said Ogiasa was abducted from his community, Otuabagi in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Thursday, June 2, adding that efforts are being made to rescue him.

Ogiasa, who was former cabinet member in the administration of former Bayelsa governor Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, is also the convener of Voice of the South-South, a socio-political group at the forefront to draft Jonathan into the 2023 Presidency.

Sources said Ogiasa’s family kept the abduction under wraps believing that the kidnappers would contact the family for ransom to be paid quietly. 

However close to 48 hours after his kidnap and no word from his abductors the family had to report the incident to the Police for investigation and possibly his rescue. 

According to a source in the community who spoke to Sun, Ogiasa had just finished a meeting in the community when gunmen numbering eight invaded his house just as he arrived from the meeting and whisked him away. 

“He had actually planned to return to Yenagoa at the end of the meeting but some people prevailed on him to wait till the next morning. He was indoors when the gunmen arrived and abducted him,” the source added.