Nkem Owoh’s kidnap: Abductors reduce ransom to N2m

The kidnappers of popular Nollywood actor and comic star, Nkem Owoh, who was abducted over the weekend along the busy Enugu/Port Harcourt road, are now mounting pressures on his family members to quickly raise the new ransom fee, which they have brought down to N2m, as against the initial N15m, earlier demanded. According to a source close to the actor, some family members of Owoh, who became famous for his wondrous role in the movie, Osuofia in London, thus earning him the famous sobriquet- Osuofia, visited the Enugu office of the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), yesterday. “They had a very fruitful discussion with the officers at SARS, before leaving. I can assure you that efforts are being intensified to track the kidnappers and release Owoh unhurt.”
Speaking on the new ransom fee, the national president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Mr. Segun Arinze, who has publicly condemned Owoh’s abduction, insisted that AGN would not pay a dime to have the actor released. “We won’t pay any ransom money to anybody or bunch of kidnappers, they should immediately release Owoh to us unconditionally. We are actors and not moneybags. I insist, we won’t give them any money either from the coffers of AGN or the pockets of our individual members. Enough of this madness, we are just like every other Nigerians helping to reposition and re-brand our great nation, through entertainment as Nollywood practitioners. Please, kidnappers should desist from kidnapping and harassing our members, except they want us to stop making Nigerians happy and proud with our great works”.
Mr. Arinze, also told Daily Sun, that he had personally sent a passionate letter of appeal to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, over Owoh’s abduction and the safety of all his other members, adding that the IG, had assured him of their maximum cooperation.
Another source told us that the Enugu State government, where Owoh hails from, had also intensified efforts to ensure that the actor gets his freedom soon.
Also commenting on the ugly issue, two leading actors in Nollywood, Victor Osuagwu and Chioma Toplis, strongly condemned Owoh’s abduction, describing it as shameful and uncalled for. According to Osuagwu: I’m still shocked and do not know who’s next. “I have ordered for wigs and Mary Kay products to disguise myself with when traveling home this Xmas.” For Toplis, who just returned from her base in the UK, she’s sad, speechless and confused at the moment.