Nigeria's secret police free Italian hostage in oil rich state

Nigeria's State Security Services (SSS) in oil rich Bayelsa State has arrested four suspected kidnappers of an Italian working with Moreno Construction Company. State director for the service Andrew Iorkyar disclosed this to reporters in Yenagoa, the state capital on Wednesday. He also paraded four of the five suspects . The director said the victim named Carmelo Stella was kidnapped by a five-man smashes gang that invaded the company's project site at Ogbia on Dec.9. He said the suspects took their victim to Kimini community in Nembe area of the state and demanded 120 million naira (800,000 U. S. dollars) ransom from the Italian company before he could be released. According to the director, the command's operatives in liaison with the company successfully rescued the victim on Dec. 10 at about 3:43 p.m. local time at Ogia waterways. He said four of the kidnappers were arrested while one was still at large. Iorkyar said one of the suspects was a former employee of the company seeking inclusion in the Amnesty Program of the Federal Government, while the three others, were ex-militants who had embraced the program. The director warned all other criminals involved or intending to be involved in kidnapping to desist from the act as the long arm of the law would always catch up with them.