Suspected militants, who kidnapped two expatriate workers of Julius Berger at Rumuji, Rivers state, have reportedly demanded for N32m ransom before granting freedom to the kidnapped expatriates, Niger Delta STANDARD has gathered. A source reliably informed that the road construction giant would rather close operations in the region than to pay any ransom on the kidnapped workers just as the militants might have moved their victims to an unknown destination in Bayelsa. Already, the construction giant had closed its yard in Azikoro Road area of Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa state.
A visit by Niger Delta Standard to the said yard yesterday (Wednesday) revealed a loud silence surrounding the hitherto bubbling yard, save for a few soldiers of the Joint Military Task Force mounting a check-point few metres to the gate. At the multi-billion Ekoli Bridge site in Swali, Yenagoa, the company’s 15 heavy-duty vehicular machines were seen packed just as a staff who preferred anonymity told our correspondent that every staff was having a quiet time as management had directed that no work should go on until further notice.
Further checks by our correspondent showed that the company had also abandoned the on-going work on the Ahoada-Port Harcourt axis area of the dualisation of East/West road project. “You can see we are not working”, said the staff at the Ekoli Bridge , adding that, “Everything has been grounded. No staff is working. We have been instructed not to work. The situation will remain like this until there is counter directive from management. “All the expatriates that you are seeing around only come to observe the situation of things.
They will leave shortly”. “The suspected kidnappers are demanding for a whooping sum of N32m. But the company has said it will no pay the money. Instead the management has decided to move out of the region until there is peace and safety”. The whereabouts of the kidnapped expatriates, as at press time, was yet unknown. Niger Delta Standard investigations revealed that work at major construction sites in Bayelsa state where Berger was handling various projects had stopped since the news of the kidnap of the expatriates at Rumuji area of Rivers state, last Friday.