Gunmen demand $100,000 to free two Nollywood veterans kidnapped in Enugu

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Twenty-four hours after prominent Nollywood actors and members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Cynthia Okereke and Clemson Cornel, aka Agbogidi, were kidnapped in an Enugu suburb, their abductors have contacted their families, according to Premium Times.

The actors were reported missing after their family members confirmed they didn’t return home from a film location at Ozalla Town, Enugu State, on Thursday.

Both actors are renowned for starring in movies shot in Enugu and Delta states.

Yesterday, the AGN national president, Emeka Rollas, told PREMIUM TIMES that the kidnappers were requesting a lump sum in dollars.

He said, “The kidnappers have made contact with the families and are demanding the sum of $100,000. We pray to God for his intervention and for Him to put confusion in their midst. We are also working closely with the different security operatives, but we are not sure what to expect from them because the same thing is happening everywhere in the country.”

Rollas also said members of the guild were working closely with the families of the victims and the security forces to ensure their safe release.

In a Punch newspaper interview published yesterday, Mr Rollas said; ‘The kidnappers cleared the money in Cynthia Okereke’s account this morning.’’

As part of measures to forestall a repeat occurrence, Mr Rollas said the guild had ordered its members not to shoot outside the metropolis and ensure that they make adequate provisions for security in their locations.

AGN’s director of communications, Monalisa Chinda, broke the news of the kidnap of the actors in a statement on Friday.