Efforst by the new administration in Rivers State to reopen foreign investment drive may have suffered a setback following the horrible and tragic death of a Dutch national in the river near Port Harcourt while escaping from a kidnap attack on a bridge, Monday night.
The victim, Gibson Reuben, was the Managing Director/CEO of Rivers State Cassava Industry Limited, Afam, representing technical partners to the project.
This is at the time the Sim Fubara-led administration is wooing investors, local and foreign, back to Port Harcourt with emphasis on peace-building, youth mobilization, infrastructural boost, and ease of doing business. A $300m agreement was recently signed with foreign and local investors for waste to wealth project expected to boost job creation and wealth creation. Hints are high that many other investors have made inquiries to come to Rivers State especially in agric sector and at the Songhai Farms.
Now, the tragedy of Reuben has sent shockwaves around the international community, but the police have vowed to get to the root of the matter.
The drama began late evening of Monday, January 13, 2025, when the vehicle conveying the Duct was waylaid on the never-ending bridge at Okulu Rivers in Aleto Eleme, near Port Harcourt.
The hitmen stopped the car but the CEO who drove himself veered off the bridge that has no barriers and smashed into the fast-flowing river. The policemen attached to him were said to have survived.
It was gathered that the spot has been a kidnapper’s choice spot because of the bad spot that does not allow anybody to speed away.
The entire stretch from Eleme Junction at the entry into Port Harcourt to Trailer Park in Onne has become death trap and kidnappers’ choice zone. The road that leads to the world’s fastest-growing oil and gas free trade zone has been rotten for decades, seen as an eyesore.
The road has also attracted many community protests and is now a subject of political promises and campaigns, yet, it has never been done.
Multitudes gathered around the area to watch the rescue effort which yielded the vehicle and corpse at about 3pm of Tuesday.
The rescue effort was said to have first been mobilized by the Eleme local council before security agencies joined.
Fortunately, the Mobile Police personnel accompanying Reuben managed to escape, but the and the Hilux Van was still submerged in the water till late. A search party led by the Command’s Marine Unit was constituted to rescue the expatriate who was also the driver in charge of the Hilux van. The search party’s efforts resulted in the recovery of the lifeless body of the expatriate and the White colour Toyota Hilux Van.
The recovery of the body and vehicle is said to have brought somber end to the rescue efforts.
The newly appointed Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command, Olugbenga A Adepoju, later visited the scene of a gruesome attack.
Read also: Unidentified expatriate drowns in Alesa River escaping from suspected kidnap attempt
Adepoju was accompanied by the Area Commander Eleme, DPOs within the Eleme Area Command, and tactical teams of the command already at the scenes. The CP at the scene strongly condemned the attack and described it as very barbaric. He ordered a full scale investigation with immediate arrest of the perpetrators of the act, vowing to bring them to justice.
This incident is said to be a disturbing situation and the Police Commissioner’s swift response has been seen as a welcome step towards addressing these concerns.
A police statement said: “He is calling on the good people of Rivers State to provide credible information that could lead to the arrest of the fleeing perpetrators of this act”, according to Grace Iringe-Koko, a superintendent of police and the police public relations officer.
It was gathered that insiders in the Fubara administration are upset with the incident which seems to dent a good investment profile. Some security experts however noted that crime is inevitable in any society but that more security system need to be deployed in sensitive areas and business districts.
Calls have also gone to the FG to prove their seriousness to the people of the state by making the rehabilitation of the Onne Road a fast project.
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