Mr. Joseph David, a 28-year-old taxi driver, was kidnapped along Esuk Mba road in Akpabuyo Local Government Area and rescued by the Cross River State Police Command.
According to sources, the victim was rescued in the forest of Esuk Mba by the Anti-Cultism and Kidnapping Squad, a tactical unit of the command, in collaboration with Operation Akpakwu (Army detachment) following a distress call.
The kidnappers were said to have abandoned their victim when they discovered that a search and rescue team were closing in on them.
It also was gathered that the victim’s vehicle was also recovered.
Speaking with Vanguard, the rescued driver said he was hired to take a passenger to Esuk Mba to carry Palm oil at a mill, without knowing that it was a setup.
“On our way to carry the oil, he asked me to stop, I inquired about the palm oil we came to carry and, all of a sudden, two young men came out from a nearby bush with long guns and marched me into a speed boat and took me into the creeks.
“They left the person who hired me from Nelson Mandela street in Calabar with my vehicle. Fortunately, my car didn’t start and, in the process, some youths from the area suspected something was wrong. When he was accosted, he took off, that was when a call was placed to the tactical unit of Anti Kidnapping Squad.”