Vigil for kidnapped girls

Some residents in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region have called for military intervention to help curb the incessant kidnapping of people in the metropolis recently.

They suggested that the military in the metropolis should be allowed to patrol the new areas where the cases have been recorded.

They said residents in areas like Diabene, Kansaworodo, Nkroful, Queen of Peace, Mount Zion, Anaji and Butumagyabu are not safe.

They made the appeal after participating in a vigil organized by Takoradi-based Skyy Power FM for the three kidnapped girls in the metropolis.

The participants, most of whom were Christians, embarked on a candle light procession through some principal streets of Takoradi and later converged on the Takoradi Jubilee Park to pray to God to help bring back the girls.

Rev Appiah Baidoo, Head Pastor of House of Favour Church in Takoradi, who led the prayer session, stressed that the time has come for the military to patrol the new sites to ward off miscreants who are bent on kidnapping young women in the area.

“The criminals have now moved to Anaji, Queen of Peace and Mount Zion areas, and so we plead with the president to allow the military to patrol these areas,” he added.

According to him, even though the police are doing everything possible to protect the people, the criminals might think twice before acting with the involvement of the military.

Rev Francis Francis Oppong Ankomah of Christian Faith Church International in Sekondi, who also prayed for the girls, was optimistic the girls would be found, saying “nothing is impossible for God in this case. We are still seeking God’s intervention to help find the kidnapped girls.”

He advised young women in the area to be extra vigilant when dealing with people they suspect to have sinister motives.

Background

Between the months of August and December, last year, three kidnapping cases were reported to the police in Takoradi.

The first victim, Priscilla Blessing Bentum, 21, a third-year student of the University of Education, Winneba, lived with her parents at Diabene, near Takoradi.

She was kidnapped on August 17, 2018, at Kansaworodo.

Her parents paid a ransom of GH¢4,500 to the kidnappers, but Priscilla was not freed so they later lodged a complaint with the police in Takoradi.

The second victim, Ruth Love Quayson, 18, had just completed Fijai Senior High School in Sekondi and lived with her parents at Diabene, near Sekondi.

She was kidnapped on December 4, 2018 at Butumegyabu (BU) Junction in Takoradi.

Her parents paid GH¢1,300 to the kidnappers before they made a report to the police.

The third victim Priscilla Mantebea Koranchie, 15, a first-year student of Sekondi College, lived with her parents at West Fijai, near Sekondi.

She was kidnapped on December 21, 2018, at a spot near Nkroful junction.

The parents also paid GH¢1,000 to the kidnappers before they made a report to the police.

Suspect Arrested

On December 22, 2018, at about 4am, Samuel Udoetuk Wills, a 28-year-old Nigerian, was arrested in connection with the kidnappings.