By Adeyemi Elijah Benin
The wife of Mr. Parry Owie, a prominent businessman in Edo state, Mrs Emily Owie has raised an alarm over another attempt to kidnap her the third time.
The housewife has been kidnapped twice in Benin City, Edo state.
She complained that some suspected assailants trailed her from her shop recently in Benin City with an unmarked car, but her previous experience in the hand of kidnappers helped her to escape.
Born on 16 October, 1978, Mrs. Owie was first kidnapped in 2010 in her residence at Ugbor in Benin City where her two months old baby and her sister were abducted and kept in a bush around Temboga road at ikpoba hill in Benin for days.
The husband, Mr. Parry Owie was said to have given out the sum of Three million naira cash to effect their release. Some months after the incident, four of the suspects were arrested by men of the anti kidnapping squad of the Edo state police command. The suspects were interrogated and charged to court but they were not convicted due to lack of strong evidence as the witnesses refused to come to court to testify out of fear.
In 2014, Mrs. Owie was kidnapped again near a supermarket in Benin City, when she went for shopping. She was said to have been taken to a forest around Oluku near Benin City where she spent about three days in captivity. Another ransom was also said to have been paid before she was released.
Few days after the incident, five of the suspects were arrested and part of their loot recovered from them. The suspects were then led to the forest by the police in Edo state for the recovery of their arms and ammunition. But the outing became fatal as the hoodlums had contacted some of their escapees to ambush the policemen in order to free their arrested colleagues.
There was however exchange of gun fire which led to the death of the five suspects. In the ensuing police battle with the criminals, some items were recovered. They include one pump action gun, forty three live ammunition, one double barrel gun and one range rover jeep allegedly snatched from their victim.
However, the same woman, Mrs Owie has raised another alarm of an attempt to kidnap her the third time. A situation that has now made her to go underground to avoid a repeat of the past which she had earlier described as traumatic, terrible and unfriendly.
As at press time, the whereabouts of the said Mrs Emily Owie is unknown as her house in Ugbor, Benin city is under lock and key. Report indicates that, she must have escaped for fear of the unknown.
