A lecturer of Science Education in the
Delta State University, Abraka, Dr Mercy
Mokobia has been abducted by yet unknown
gunmen. She was reportedly kidnapped on Tuesday
night by her abductors, who broke into her
Obiaruku residence. Reacting to her kidnap, the Academic Staff
Union of Universities, ASUU, Delta State
University, Abraka chapter, decried the spate of
kidnapping in the State. Chairman of the chapter, Dr
Emmanuel Mordi in
a statement said; “we have received with shock the abduction of one of our members, Dr (Mrs)
Mercy Mokobia from her home at Obiaruku
between 12 midnight and 1am on Tuesday,
April, 2013 by armed bandits who broke into her
home. “Robbed the family after which they took her
along on foot to an unknown destination. Her where about has since remained unknown. It
is clear now that she is a kidnap victim because
the hoodlums Thursday called a close
associate of the family demanding for the payment of
N20 million ransom for her release. “Until this current
incident of kidnap there was a lull in the kidnapping of our members and
their spouses which had intended to give
lecturers at Delsu false sense of security. “For the
umpteenth time, ASUU Delsu wishes to
register in strong term its total rejection of the
humiliation of its members by hoodlums. Academics are not money bags but law
abiding, knowledgeable citizens who sacrifice
day and night, all their comfort to impact knowledge
and skills to Nigerian youths so as
to equip them to become useful members of
the society who can perpetuate human civilization. “We call on our members to be ever
vigilant
and to report all strange movements of vehicles
and persons in their vicinities to the
appropriate authorities. This is because the
attack on the Mokobias was not a surprised raid since we now know that 12 hours before the
incident, okada riders were spotted in the
vicinity of her home discharging some so called
‘passengers.’ “We call on the hoodlums to
immediately
release Dr (Mrs) Mokobia unconditionally. The host community Obiaruku also has a moral
duty to fish out the hoodlums and ensure the
security of our members who lives among
them. We also urge security agencies to swing to
action immediately, apprehend the hoodlums,
and free Dr (Mrs) Mokobia, failing which the union will have no other choice than to ask its
members to stay at home in keeping with
congress decision of November 23, 2011.”
We wonder how high the rate of insecurity in this country is going.