Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Kombowei Benson
Gunmen on Monday kidnapped Betinah, mother of the Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Kombowei Benson, at her residence in Korokosei, Southern Ijaw Local Government.
The 78-year-old woman was reportedly asleep when gunmen stormed her residence, whisking her away to unknown destination at about 12.30am.
A statement by the Media Assistant to the Speaker, Mr. Piriye Kiyaramo, confirmed the development.
He said, “Information reaching the Office of the Speaker indicates that the gunmen, who came in two speedboats, shot sporadically into the air to scare away people before going away with their victim.
“The incident has been reported to the police.
“No contact has been made with the kidnappers at the time of sending this report.”
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Fidelis Odunna, also confirmed the report, saying the force had begun a manhunt for the suspected kidnappers.
He said, “We learnt of the Speaker’s mother’s kidnap early this morning, but we have swung into action to free her.”
Kombowei has been in the spotlight since he became the Speaker of the House in February 2012.
He was once impeached and later reinstated following the intervention of some Peoples Democratic Party leaders in the state.
The Speaker has been battling with the allegation that he and other members of the House defrauded the state of N78m under the guise of attending the 43rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Session in South Africa last year.
However, Kombowei fingered sacked local government council chairmen for his the development, claiming that they were also behind the recent move by some lawmakers to impeach him.
Some of his kinsmen on January 4 accused him of instigating crisis in Korokorosei community, alleging that the Speaker was planning to impose his younger brother, Iniokpoemei, as Chairman of the Korokorosei Community Development Committee.
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