12 Years After, My Daughters Are Still In Kidnappers’ Den

Mr. Rowland Monokpo, a Rivers civil servant, has cried out that after 12 years, his daughters are still not released by their kidnappers.

He stated that his daughters’ abductors had demanded a 1 million naira ransom.

Twelve years after his two daughters, Scholatica and Maryann, were abducted on a farmland in the Deeyor community of Rivers State’s Gokana Local Government Area.

Mr. Rowland Monokpo, who is a retired civil servant in the Rivers State civil service, has said he believes they will return home someday.

Monokpo said on Rhythm 93.7FM, Port Harcourt, that his daughters were preparing to start university education when they were kidnapped in 2009.

He expressed great grieve that his daughters’ abductors refused to release them after he paid 200,000, a part of the ransom.

Narrating the incident, he explained that he’d gone to Akwa Ibom State to buy palm oil. On his return, he didn’t find his daughters, only to receive a call later that they were picked up on the farm.

According to him, he reported the matter to the police when his girls spoke to him that their condition was critical and the kidnappers were threatening to kill them if he did not bring N1m.

He added that he was only able to raise N200,000, which, according to him, he dropped at Kpopie Junction, where the kidnappers picked it up.

He said that the kidnappers have since refused to release his daughters.

He implored the police to reopen an investigation into the case and unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of his children.

Monokpo also appealed to the civil society organizations, Rivers State government, and the international community to join him in the search for the girls.

He noted that his health has waned as a result of the incident, adding that by now his daughters must have graduated from the university, but the kidnappers have deprived them of their right to freedom and education.

Responding to the report, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, asked Monokpo to lodge a formal complaint with his office as he promised to look into the matter.