Edo Head Of Service, Anthony Okungbowa Kidnapped. Driver killed

The crime wave in Benin City, the Edo State capital, took a dive on Saturday evening as the Head of Service, Mr Anthony Okungbowa, was kidnapped.

Tribune Online gathered that Okungbowa, who was appointed HOS by Governor Godwin Obaseki in April, was kidnapped along Oza Road in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state.

A source in the Edo Civil Service, who confirmed the incident but asked that he should not be mentioned, disclosed that the gunmen also killed Okungbowa’s official driver before taking him away.

The victim was said to have gone to the locality where he was kidnapped to attend a social event.

“He was kidnapped on his way back to Benin City after attending a social event in Oza. His driver was killed,” the source added.

Another top civil servant who is also close to the kidnapped Head of Service, and worked in tje Ministry of Justice, from where Okugbowa was made the Hhead of Service, also pleading anonymity, simply said “we just got the information. It is true.”

Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, did not pick his calls when he was contacted over the incident.