ABDUCTORS of wife of oil magnate, Chief Humphrey Idisi, Chairman of Lonestar Drilling Limited, have given him two days within which to pay a ransom, which they had slashed by half to N500 million.
They threatened further that if he failed to meet up with the two-day deadline, they would kill his wife and come after him and his children.
Addressing journalists on the update of the abduction of his wife seven days ago, Chief Idisi, as well as hundreds of employees of the oil servicing company called on the abductors to release Chief (Mrs) Margaret Idisi immediately.
According to the mogul, the abductors of his wife, who resumed talking with the family on Friday, told him that they expected the ransom to be paid.
Chief Idisi said he feared for his wife’s life as she has been diagnosed to be hypertensive and, according to him, had in the last conversation he had with her on phone, been complaining of ill-health as she had been cut off from her routine medication.
“They claimed that my wife begged them to come down with the money to N500 million, which I doubt because my wife knew that there was no N500 million in the house or anywhere to beg them to bring the money down to N500. They now dropped it to N500 million, giving me two days, if I don’t provide the N500 million they will kill my wife and then wherever I like, if I like I should run to the villa, they will come after me, they will kill me and kill all my children.
“All they told me was that I have failed to pay my workers the salary for the month of March and I said we are only owing March, this is April and it is because Shell, MPDC and Agip have not paid, we are waiting for some inflow and when that inflow comes we’ll pay for the month of March. The month’s salary is not a N5 thing, we have expatriates we have nationals and I told them as soon as we got money we will pay. This week, I think two days ago, that March salary has been paid.
“That was the only reason they gave and after that they said they were offered N1 billion to come and kill me”, he said.
He explained that the delay in salary payment they alleged was not a constant thing, saying it was only when the companies he contracts for have in the last few months been experiencing financial difficulties, which have hampered them to pay Lonestar regularly.
While he acknowledged the efforts governors in the Niger Delta, especially those of Rivers and Delta States, have put into getting his wife out, he still called on them and the various security agencies to act fast as his wife’s health situation is steadily waning.
“My appeal to them is that they should please hasten up whatever they are doing. We were told that this woman has refused to eat since Sunday that they took her hostage. She’s also hypertensive, her drugs are at home, she’s not taken them. Yesterday she said ‘my head is getting heavy, my head is getting heavy’. Now that she is not eating and she’s not taking her drugs, I am getting very concerned that whatever is being done should be done quickly so that this woman can regain her freedom”, he said.