By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN— KIDNAPPERS dared the curse laid by the Benin Monarch, Oba Erediauwa, when last Thursday,  they abducted the sister-in-law to the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Planning and Budgetary in Edo State, Mrs Lilian Iwu.

Mrs Iwu is married to the elder brother of the immediate past Chairman of the INEC, Prof. Maurice Iwu.

Mrs Iwu was said to have been abducted by three armed men at about 10am last Thursday,  after she left her house in the GRA area in Benin City, heading to  office. Initially, the kidnappers were said to have delayed contacting her family until Saturday, when they finally made contact, demanding the sum of N150million as ransom.

Vanguard learnt that the family was yet to negotiate with the kidnappers but are concerned on how to get such an amount of money to free the woman.

A source at the police headquarters told Vanguard that “we are always careful when it comes to things like this but that does not mean that we are relaxing. I cannot tell you what we are doing but we are only praying for the better.” The state police had only last week paraded ten suspected kidnappers after which they were charged to court.