Kidnapped Journalists: One still missing, one dead, six rescued

The Joint security operatives have stated that they have successfully rescued six members of the media crew who were abducted on Thursday. However, colleagues of the journalists have said that one person is still unaccounted for.

Sports Journalists based in Lagos where the crew members are based said they have been able to identify those rescued, the reporter who was killed but nobody has been able to account for the whereabouts of one of them.

A member of the Lagos Chapter of the Sports Writers Association told Extrasportsnigeria Thursday night, “It’s a very sad moment. We thought it was just one person missing, but from the headcount, it appears we are actually looking for two people. We lost Kola, this we know now checking from the images from the scene. One person erroneously listed has announced he got to Uyo yesterday.”

The criminals completely burnt the bus the journalists were travelling in.

The sports journalists were abducted while travelling from Lagos to Uyo along Isseke-Orlu Road in Ihiala.

The joint security operatives have assured Nigerians that search is ongoing for the possible rescue of the seventh crew member.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Awka, Anambra State Capital, by the state public relations officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga.

“Meanwhile, operations are still ongoing for the possible rescue of the seventh crew member. Further development shall be communicated, please,” he said in a report by the News Agency of Nigeria.

A Nigerian Sports Writers Association team travelled from Lagos to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital for the AFCON qualifying match between Nigeria and Libya was attacked. The journalists who are largely television crew members were said to have been attacked along the Isseke-Orlu Road in Ihiala, Anambra South Senatorial District – a section of the country that has been under the control of armed groups for some time. Extradportnigeria