Abuja — Seven days after four journalists and their driver were kidnapped by gunmen, it is the same old story by the Nigeria Police Force: "We are doing everything to get them released."

But the national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Malam Mohammed Garba, says journalists and the families of the victims can no longer wait and have therefore fixed a meeting for 2pm today in Lagos to discuss how to raise the N30 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

Malam Garaba told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY last night that the gunmen had reduced the ransom from N250 million to N30 million and requested him to travel to Calabar, the Cross River State capital, and pay the money. He said the NUJ had painfully taken the decision to raise the ransom in the general interest of the journalists and their families in spite of the security implications.

"I have received several telephone calls from people asking me to reach out to friends of journalists to help raise the money; I think that is what we are going to discuss tomorrow (today) in Lagos", the NUJ national president stated.

While he expressed appreciation at the efforts of the security agencies so far in attempts to track down the kidnappers, Malam Garaba who has been part of the tracking team said the nature of the area and lack of information by the community is making the whole exercise very difficult.

One of the facilitators of today's meeting, former national president of NUJ, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said yesterday it will be best for NUJ to raise the money in the interest of the affected journalists.

Another source told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY last night that the pronouncement by President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday that one of the kidnappers had been arrested was not true.

"I am sure the president was fed with false security report; none of the kidnappers has been arrested; somebody was actually arrested based on tracking of a phone being used by the kidnappers. The person, the owner of the phone, was also a victim of the kidnappers; they stole his phone; they were using the phone until the man blocked the line and recovered it. And the man who was arrested has since been released", the security source said.

He also confirmed that the identification and business cards of the affected journalists were recovered in a house in Umuafo-Ukwu community in Obingwa local government area, during the tracking exercise on Friday.

The huge expectation by officials of the NUJ that the four kidnapped journalists would be released Friday was dashed as the combined efforts of the mobile policemen, the State Security Service (SSS) and the Interpol to secure the release of the journalists failed. Security men who went to push for the release of the kidnapped journalists arrived at Umuahia from the village, about 50 kilometres away from Umuahia, where they are being held hostage, without success.

The police authority claimed on Wednesday to have tracked down the area where the journalists are being held and promised to secure their release Friday.

Explaining the near-stalemate over the release of the journalists, a senior security operative had told our correspondent that "there was credible evidence that some security officials within the police and the SSS are collaborating with the notorious kidnappers was responsible for the intelligence failure in the exercise so far."

According to him, "the operatives' headquarters is very much aware that some policemen and some operatives are linked to the kidnapping business in the South-East; these boys send returns to them; we are shocked at how these boys get information about our moves. Within this context, it is near-impossible to track down these boys."

Consequently, LEADERSHIP SUNDAY gathered that the SSS Headquarters has ordered the transfer of Abia State director of SSS to Benin-City with immediate effect.

A security source had told our correspondent that those leaders of Umuafo-Ukwu community in Obingwa local government area, where the journalists are being held, were also not cooperating with the security operatives and the police on the issue.

"We believe the community leaders are aware of where the journalists are being held; they are not cooperating with us; they are not giving us any useful information; it is very frustrating," the security source stated.

"Every okada rider (commercial cyclist) is an informant; every telephone call operator in that community is an informant; as you are moving they are giving the kidnappers information; we believe the community leaders are also involved in this notorious business of kidnapping."

Inspector-general of Police Ogbonna Onovo had told the kidnappers involved in the notorious kidnapping business on Tuesday to get ready for war with his men. The police boss relocated to Abia State on Tuesday on the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan, who was said to have told him not to return to Abuja until the affected journalists and their drivers were set free by the kidnappers.

The chairman of the Lagos State council of the NUJ, Alhaji Wahab Alabi Oba; the assistant secretary of the council, Mr. Sylvester Okereke; the secretary of Zone 'G' of NUJ, Mr. Adolphus Okonkwo; a Lagos-based journalist, Mr. Shola Oyeyepo, and the driver attached to the council, Mr. Yekini Azazi, were kidnapped in Ukpakiri, Abia State, by unknown gunmen on their way back home from the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of NUJ in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Onovo, who was in Umuahia Tuesday had ordered the Abia and Akwa Ibom commands to fish out the abductors of the journalists in the area. Onovo, who gave the order during a courtesy visit on Gov. Theodore Orji, said the kidnappers went too far to abduct the journalists, whom he described as watch-dogs of the society. He said: "I want to sound a note of warning that the gradual approach of the police in tackling the crime should not be taken as a sign of weakness."

Meanwhile, the governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, has said that governors are not solely responsible for security, maintaining that security agencies have a greater task to perform in the reduction of crime. He was speaking on "Radio Link," an audience participatory programme of Radio Nigeria. Answering a question on the issue of security in the state, Orji harped on the need for a state police, while pointing out that governors have no adequate control of the police.

He said: "The governor is the chief security officer but he doesn't control the police adequately. He only helps the police to perform. You can call your CP and give him directives and he won't abide by those directives. He would like to phone the IGP to take a counter-directive. So that is the problem and that is why people are advocating for state police. If you have a state police, you have firm control of them and can tell them what to do. You equip the police, you tell them what they have to do and they will do it.

"The problem of insecurity is a serious one and, in Abia State, we've been doing our best to make sure this issue of kidnapping is eliminated. You realize that the issue of security is not left for the governor alone. The governor is the chief security officer, that's okay, but the main people that are responsible, who are the foot soldiers, are the security agents. When I say the security agents, I mean the police and the SSS.

"What the governor does is ensure that the atmosphere is conducive for these agents to operate. It's to ensure that you empower them, that you give them those things with which they will fight crime, and that is what we have been doing in Abia State.

When they make their request, we listen and oblige them. If I were a trained soldier, I'd carry my gun and pursue these kidnappers but I'm not a trained soldier. There are people who are trained, there are people who are experts in this type of business. So the governor is there to galvanise, to make sure that things they will work with are available. In Abia State, we have tried and are still trying."

The governor called on the federal government to treat kidnapping as a national calamity since it is not peculiar to Abia State. "It has now taken a national dimension and that is why the federal government should come in and see kidnapping as a national calamity. It's not only in Abia State that it's happening," he said. Further, Governor Orji posited that the kidnappers are more equipped than the police and pointed out the need for the police to be properly equipped.

"I know that the federal government is carrying out reforms and we agree that better equipment should be provided. Let me give you an instance: In Ukwa-West local government area, there is a place that is well known for kidnapping. These kidnappers made a den there where they keep kidnapped persons. We made our investigations and found the place. We informed the police but we came to discover that the kidnappers have rapid machine gun surrounding that enclave.

And when we told the police to look into what was happening there, the police had AK 47. How can one with AK 47 match somebody with rapid gun? Nothing happened until the military was invited. So the police need to be adequately equipped," he explained.