By Christopher Oji, Lagos
The family and office of the eight workers who were abducted by gunmen on the Lagos waterway on Monday have not got any message from their abductors.
This has caused fear and apprehension in the state as the police said they were yet to ascertain the motive behind the abduction.
Following the abduction, oil workers in the axis have vowed not to return to work until their colleagues are found.
The victims who were reportedly returning home, on Monday, were attacked around the Tin Can Island area of the state.
According to a police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the workers were on their way to Apapa, after the close of work, when they were abducted by the gunmen.
The officer said whenever the staff were leaving work, they always boarded a boat together to Apapa before going their separate ways.
The bandits were said to have hijacked the boat that the victims were travelling in and trans-load them into another speed boat.
The gunmen were said to have taken the oil workers into the creek and later dropped the boat at a Jetty in Ikorodu.
A senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not supposed to speak with the press, said: “Really, Lagos used to be the safest place, but with what is happening now, we need to review our security architecture. I won’t tell you a lie, it looks as if we are overconfident and we relaxed. Anyway, we are trailing the hoodlums. We will soon get them.
“The oil workers left their office on June 26, at about 6:00 pm, and the victims boarded a boat at a jetty on the island. They had not been seen since then and no message or phone call from either the bandits or the victims. This is a serious concern to us because it is only when they make calls that we should be able to know the motives behind the abduction. The boat was dumped at Ikorodu, meaning that the gunmen dropped the victims somewhere in the creek before the boat Engineer drove the boat to the jetty at Ikorodu.”
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the case was under investigation.