TheCable

The pregnant wife of Ubong Assam, the paramount ruler of Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom, and four of the monarch’s children, have been kidnapped.

Asuquo Abia, secretary, traditional rulers council, Esit Eket, told NAN that the gunmen invaded the palace of the paramount ruler in the wee hours of Friday morning.

He said they shot sporadically for over five hours before whisking away the victims.

“The gunmen destroyed part of the palace with dynamites and broke into all the rooms and carted away valuables,” he said.

He said they arrived at the palace on Thursday, claiming to be policemen from Abuja who were on an investigation.

“They later came back the next day around 1:30am and shot sporadically till 6 am in the morning.”

Also, a family member, Norbert Assam, said seven people sustained injuries during the incident.

Assam also said the gunmen escaped in the paramount ruler’s Jeep.

“They came in two vehicles, a white Hilux van and a sports utility vehicle; they met the paramount ruler and said they came from Abuja to investigate a matter of attempted murder on the life of the monarch,” he said.

“We saw two masked men in the Hilux van who they claimed were suspects of the attempted murder case, but they did not allow us to go near the vehicles.”

He said the gunmen came from the creeks in the area, revealing that they ransacked the palace and took away valuables and money.

Reacting to the incident, Cordelia Nwawe, police public relation officer in Akwa Ibom, said the command was yet to receive a report on the kidnap, but added that the police was committed to safety of life and property in the area.

This is the second time in two years that gunmen will attack the palace of the paramount ruler.