Unknown gunmen who abducted renowned author Captain Elechi Amadi on Monday night in his home in Port Harcourt, southeast Nigeria's Rivers State, released him to his family on Tuesday night.
Following the public outrage over the abduction, Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi had ordered security agencies in the state to expand their dragnet and ensure the speedy release of the novelist, according to a report on the Guardian newspaper Wednesday.
Spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa confirmed the release but said the JTF was not aware if ransom was paid to secure the release of the elder statesman.
Musa said, "He was abducted at about 9.00 p.m. (on Monday) and has therefore spent nine hours in the hands of his abductors. To the best of our knowledge, ransom has not been paid. I wish to thank those who assisted in the release of the victim."
The news of the abduction had elicited sharp condemnation of literary icons and contemporaries of Amadi such as Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and others.
Reacting via e-mail Tuesday, Soyinka said it was an "unconscionable and unpardonable" act to hold the literary giant for whatever reason.
Source: Xinhua
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