Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Residents of Port Harcourt, especially members of the Rivers State branch of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, have been thrown into mourning following the murder of Soalabor West, a popular lawyer in the oil city.
Soalabor who was a former governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was kidnapped while inspecting his poultry farm in Aluu on March 12, 2020, and taken to an unknown destination.
His corpse was found around 6pm last Wednesday.
The deceased’s elder brother, Emmanuel, expressed shock over the death of the politician, which, according to him, was in the hands of the suspected herdsmen who abducted him.
He confirmed that Soala had gone to inspect his poultry farm in Aluu when he was whisked away by the herdsmen, who brandished AK-47 rifles.
It was learnt that Soala’s captors had earlier demanded N30m as ransom from his relatives, but later reduced it to N2.5 million.
It could not be ascertained if the ransom was paid before Soala was found dead a week after his abduction.
Rivers state Police Command has not spoken on the incident as at the time of filing this report.
The Port Harcourt Branch Chairman of NBA, Sylvester Adaka, who pleaded with the lawyer’s abductors to release him unconditionally before he was found dead has decried attacks on lawyers in the oil city.
The Rivers State Police Command is yet to react to the development.