My release was ordered by Tompolo - Edwin Clark’s son

EBIKEME, a son of octogenarian and Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark,  regained his freedom Sunday morning. He said that his release might have been made possible on the orders of Chief Government  Ekpemupolo otherwise known as Tompolo.

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The release was followed by jubilation at Kiagbodo, the country home of the Clarks when the news filtered in Sunday morning.
Mr Clark was said to have been left off the kidnappers’ hook at about 1:00 a.m on Sunday with no ransom paid, according to police spokesperson, DSP Celestina Kalu.
Ebikeme was kidnapped last week Wednesday evening at his ancestral home, Kiagbodo in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State while paying wages to workers at his father’s project, Edwin Clark Univeristy of Technology.
The kidnapper, had, on Friday, established contact with the Clarks demanding about N60 million as ransom, which the Ijaw national leader, Edwin Clark rejected with a warning to the abductors to release his son unhurt or be ready for “war.”
The release of Clark junior was said to have been facilitated by ex-militant, Chief Government  Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo).

Ebikeme Clark, while speaking with journalists, said that he was freed early Sunday morning by his abductors on the orders of Tompolo with no ransom paid.
Earlier, one of Tompolo’s boys, now in the net of the police, was arrested on the day of the saga (Wednesday) which perhaps made it easier for the ex-warlord to step into the case.
Looking fagged out but unruffled, Ebikeme declined further details, but said he was grateful to God, his dad and all other Nigerians who facilitated his release.
When pressed a little further on his ordeal, Mr Clark, who informed that he only ate what he was given by his abductors, said his captors took him to a community around Bayelsa, saying people of the community might have had a hand in his abduction.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Tribune gathered that the boat driver and the masterminds as well as wife of one of the suspects who was with the victim at the kidnappers’ hideout, had been arrested by the police.
But DSP Kalu, while speaking on phone to Nigerian Tribune, said she was only aware of the arrest of one suspect, whom, she said, was one of the allies of Tompolo. The suspect, she said, was the one who gave out the whereabouts of the gang holding Ebikeme Clark hostage to the police.
“We were closing in on the gang, so they had to quickly release the guy because they knew the game was up,” DSP Kalu stated.
Also, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) spokesman, Eric Omare  stated that the Ijaw Youth Council and Ijaw Youths in general insisted on Ebikeme’s unconditional release.
According to him this has clearly demonstrated  to the entire world and Nigerians in particular that crimes only thrive in a society when it is condoned and given tacit support by members of the society, stressing that IYC believes that there is a valuable lesson to be learnt from this experience by Nigerians and the Nigerian government in the fight against crime especially terrorism in the Northern part of the country.
“We commend the efforts of ex-Niger Delta agitators led by Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), Chief Boro Opudu, Vice Chairman of the Delta State Waterways Security Committee and members of the Delta State Waterways Security Committee towards the release of Mr. Ebikeme Clark.
While expressing our appreciation to security agencies and the governments of Delta and Bayelsa States for their efforts, we once again call on oil companies and state governments in the Niger Delta region whose oil revenue has increased as a result of the cessation of militancy in the Niger Delta to live up to their responsibility of providing and creating jobs in the post amnesty era.”
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