Security operatives in Rivers State said on Tuesday that they had located the hideout of the kidnappers holding Mares Divine Emeruwa, the five-year-old son of a Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) employee.
A source at the State Security Service (SSS) also confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday that the abductors had brought their ransom down to N2 million from the N30 million earlier demanded.
According to the source, the SSS in the state had been on the trail of the hoodlums since they attacked the Emeruwa family and had been able to discover their hideout, but had been exercising caution on moving in on them because of the age of the hostage involved, so as not injure him by mistake.
�They have now reduced their demand to N2 million, saying that they have to be paid for the vehicle they used in the operation, which they have burnt. But you can be sure they will get nothing. It is a resolve we have taken and we have also warned the family not to attempt to pay a dime. We are on the case and like you too have seen in the last few cases, we have always come out with successes.
�We have only been exercising restraint so as to get our targets clear enough before we strike. Very soon, the boy will be set free,� the source said.