Port Harcourt, nearby the river where Gibson Reuben succumbed to his crash after attempting to escape his kidnapping. Credit: AskPHPeople, Twitter.
Shocking news coming from Nigeria reports a Dutch CEO of a well established agricultural company has died after attempting to escape by car from an onslaught of aggressive kidnappers, as his vehicle plunged into Okulu river in the south of the country.
This horrific story brings with it a damning signal to rectify the ongoing challenges citizens face in Nigeria of instances such as this, where kidnapping and ambushing attempts by certain local groups on those of high financial value is dangerously common.
Gibson Reuben travelled with police but still died attempting to escape gunmen
Police identified the man as Gibson Reuben, with the incident taking place on Monday, as a gang of gunmen, who are yet to be identified, began their attack on the Dutch businessman in the evening.
Reuben reportedly already had police protection in place prior to the attempt by the gunmen, as he was made aware of the dangers of travelling in the area. He had the Mobile Police escorting him, who were also armed, but they were not able to prevent him succumbing to the fatal crash of his own car into Okulu River, near the city of Port Harcourt.
Reuben was behind the wheel of the car which plummeted into the river amid a frantic attempt to escape to safety from the armed criminals, with his police escort managing to make a swift exit from the car before it crashed.
A dive team was on hand to rescue the CEO, but were reportedly unable to free him from the river in time and he fell victim to the water’s perils.
Police gave statement
Local police gave a statement: “The search party’s efforts resulted in the recovery of the lifeless body of the expatriate Mr Gibson Reuben and the white colour Toyota Hilux van. The recovery of the body and the vehicle brings a somber end to the rescue efforts.”
Police Commissioner Aolubenge Adepoju aims to bring down these unidentified men as both he and his team continue to try to tackle the burdening challenge of kidnappings in the area. He labelled the attack on the CEO as “very barbaric”.
His statement read: “I have ordered a full scale investigation with immediate arrest of the perpetrators of this reprehensible act, vowing to bring them to justice”.
Gibson Reuben was the Managing Director and CEO of Rivers State Cassava Project Limited, which is a company based in Nigeria, and he was aware of the risks associated with travelling in certain areas in the locality in the country.
Kidnapping ongoing issue in parts of Nigeria
The issue of kidnapping and ambushing of individuals believed to have a high net worth remains prominent in Nigeria, with less safety and regulation on instances like this than in many parts of Europe meaning travellers and those who operate their business from here are urged to practice caution.
It must be acknowledged that Nigeria on the whole is a vibrant, very friendly and inviting place to live, however, in certain areas with immense amounts of poverty and crime, you can never truly be safe, so it is advised to keep away from such locations, especially when a high gang presence can be found.
Police continue to do all they can to stem kidnapping attempts and restore safety to both expats and locals here.
Find the latest stories from across the Netherlands, here.
