A BusinessDay defence correspondent, Ojochenemi Onje, has been abducted by kidnappers commonly called “one chance operators” in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, several of her colleagues confirmed to The Bureau Newspaper on Friday evening.
The Bureau Newspaper learnt that the female journalist was kidnapped on her way from office.
One of the sources said the kidnappers had contacted the victim’s workplace to demand the sum of N1million before releasing her from their custody.
“We need your prayers. The BusinessDay correspondent was kidnapped by one-chance operators and they are demanding for one million before they would release her,” one of her colleagues told The Bureau Newspaper.
It was learnt that the incident had been escalated to the Nigerian police and the military, but it is uncertain the steps taken so far by the security agencies on the incident.
Many colleagues are turning in their prayers and wishes for Onje’s rescue and reunion with her family.
“One-chance” is the term Nigerians use to describe a type of robbery that occurs in both public and private cars which people board.
It is a coordinated crime committed by individuals who employ a method of hailing passengers into their waiting vehicle.
Many victims of this practice have been killed, abducted and raped.
For instance in May, a lifeless body of a middle-aged woman, Kadoon Louisa Lornumbe, was found by the roadside following an encounter with “one chance operators” at Tipper Garage Bridge near Mpape in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The Bureau Newspaper gathered that she died after she boarded a vehicle belonging to a gang of criminals otherwise known as “one chance operators.”
Earlier this year, the corpse of an unidentified lady was also found on Airport Road in the Lugbe area, also killed by the same criminals.
The safety of residents has been a cause for concern in the nation’s capital, especially with incidents of robbers posing as commercial vehicle operators.
Many residents have fallen victims to this set of people whose modus operandi is known as “One Chance”.
