We paid no ransom for Ebikeme Clark’s release— DELTA GOVT

BY Emma Amaize WARRI— DELTA State Government, yesterday, said that it did not pay ransom for the release of Mr. Ebikeme Clark, son of Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark. Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ovuozorie Macaulay, in a statement, said: “The attention of Delta State Government has been drawn to a release by a group called Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, MEND, alleging that the state government parted with N500 million as ransom for the release of Ebikeme. “In the said statement, it was also alleged that the kidnap was stage managed by Ebikeme and the police to swindle the state government of such an amount. “The Delta State Government wishes to state categorically that it did not part with any money as ransom for the release of Ebikeme. “It is the policy of the government not to pay or encourage the payment of ransom by families as this encourages more kidnappings. “The state government has had previous cases of high profile kidnappings, where the victims were kept much longer than that of Ebikeme. The government did not pay any ransom. “Secondly, the amount being mentioned, N500 million, makes the allegation very foolish for anyone who knows how government runs and the logistics of that volume of fund movement, considering the fact that there were only two working days during the period.”