Date Published: 02/04/10

Dear Editor,

Should General Akpan die in captivity PDP is finished

It is a fact that in a place where criminal activities are allowed to go unchallenged, especially such suspected to have support of political big wigs, what pervades such a place is fear of the unknown by the people. Even when you are seen dining and wining with the suspected sponsors of such criminal activities, like kidnapping; it is even then that alibi could be employed in executing such criminal activities against you. I fear the life of the kidnapped retired General Edet Akpan. 

General Akpan, though only few might know has slight breathing problem which he has managed very well most part of his life. And for such a person to have been put in the booth of a car portends grave danger to the life. Though one prays that he will come out alive, it is a fact that should anything untoward happens to this former NYSC boss, it is not only that Nigeria would be on fire but PDP as a party which he belongs would be a finished political association. It would remain the party’s albatross. General Akpan is not a small fry that should be handled the way the kidnappers did and to the sponsors of his kidnap, the Akwa Ibom people are saying they should pray very hard against any further harm on the retired army general.

I really felt disappointed reading a story “NYSC DIRECTOR’S KIDNAP RATTLES AKWA IBOM” on page 8 of the NEXT newspaper of Tuesday February 2010, quoted: “The State governor, Godswill Akpabio, who rushed back to the State following reports of the incident, is said to have offered his administration’s readiness to pay compensation to the families of all the (dead) victims”. One would not know if the Governor weighed the insinuation of this statement; it was the least expected as a reaction from a ‘surprised’ chief security officer of a State on such incident.

Dr. Thomas Uduak-Abasi

Plot 839 Ozumba Mbadiwe Road

Victoria Island, Lagos State

uduakabasio@yahoo.com