Four Nigerian journalists and their driver, kidnapped last Sunday, have been released.
They were set free this morning, Sunday.
Reports say they are now with the Abia State Police Command in Umuahia for state officials to ascertain their state of health before they would be sent home to thei families.
The captured and freed captives are: Lagos chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Wahab Oba, NUJ Zone G Secretary, Adolphus Okonkwo, Assistant Secretary, Sylva Okeke, Shola Oyeyipo, a Lagos-based journalist, and their driver, Azeez Abdulrauf. Final battle for their release began in earnest towards the end of the week with the deployment of special tracking vehicle and equipment to Abia State.
The captors of the journalists and their driver had placed a N250million ransom on the journalists after taking them hostage in Ukbariki, a boundary town between Abia and Akwa Ibom states in Aba in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.
They later backed down to a N100million and then N30million but the IGP had cautioned that no Nigerian should pay kidnappers to effect release of captives at any time. The journalists and their driver were on their way from a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State before the gunmen double-crossed the Toyota Sienna Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) in which they were riding.