JUST IN: Imo monarch’s kidnappers demand N200m ransom

The kidnappers of a prominent traditional ruler cum businessman in Imo State, Eze Joel Ndenkwo, have slammed a N200m ransom as the condition for his release.

The kidnappers made the demand on Sunday, two days after he was abducted in front of his office at the ever-busy Tetlow Road in Owerri, the state capital, around 7pm Friday.

The Isiala Umudi Autonomous Community monarch’s abductors had forced him inside their vehicle’s booth and zoomed off.

A source close to the kidnapped monarch said that his kidnappers called for the first time on Sunday and placed the mouth-watering amount as the condition for his release.

He disclosed that the kidnappers called one of his siblings through the monarch’s phone.

The source said, “The news is true. The kidnappers of his Royal Highness have called. They called his family for the first time since his abduction on Sunday. They asked the family to make available N200m on Monday. They called through his phone. I doubt where they will get that kind of money from.”

The police spokesperson for the command, Michael Abattam, said that the command had begun investigations.