Journalists at home and abroad rejoiced on Sunday at the news of the release of their four colleagues abducted in Abia State; everyone else also heaved a sigh of relief, including a severely embarrassed Aso Rock and Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo.

Onovo had risen to the challenge valiantly, and had, on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, stayed put in Umuahia until the journalists regained their freedom.

They did at about 1.30 a.m. on Sunday, and narrated their ordeal at the hands of the kidnappers, who first demanded N250 million in ransom but did not get one kobo, as insisted by the top cop.

All the criminals got was the N5,000 recharge credit sent to their mobile telephone handset by Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos Council Vice Chairman, Deji Elumoye, to keep their communication line open so that the security agencies could track them.

NUJ Lagos Council Chairman, Wahab Oba, was abducted on July 11 at Umuafoukwu junction in Abia State together with NUJ Zone D Secretary, Adolphus Okonkwo; Lagos Secretary, Sylvester Okereke; and Sola Oyeyipo, a journalist based in Lagos.

Also kidnapped was Yekeen Azeez, the driver of the bus conveying the team from the NUJ National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

On Sunday, they emerged unkempt, unwashed, barefoot, and smelly; but expressed joy and at seeing their colleagues alive again.

Oba narrated to reporters at police headquarters in Umuahia that the kidnappers dropped them in a bush at Ukpakiri village at about 1.30 a.m. and they came out at about 6.a.m. to the community, after which the community leader handed them over to police.

He said they were not manhandled but were blindfolded and kept in a tent or under trees where they were drenched by rain and beaten by the sun along with the criminals.

The kidnappers moved them every two hours due to the pressure from the police.

They had dispossessed the journalists of their possessions, including their wrist watches, laptops, and vehicle, then claimed they were not really interested in the N250 million ransom they asked for.

No ransom was paid, Oba said.

He pleaded for more equipment to facilitate the work of the police, noting that the weapons displayed by the abductors were more sophisticated and powerful than those of the police.

The journalists were presented to Governor Theodore Orji by Onovo, who said the rescue effort would have been defeated if any of the journalists had died in captivity.

According to Onovo, the police have now entered the second stage of the plan to get the kidnappers in the Obingwa axis to surrender or the criminals will have themselves to blame, because they have no choice than to embrace peace.

Onovo pleaded with innocent people who will be hurt in the onslaught against criminals to bear with the police.

Orji, who flew in from Abuja to receive the journalists, implored the kidnappers to embrace peace and surrender their weapons, since there is no more hiding place.

He cited several kidnap cases involving contractors carrying out road projects, stressing that no sane person will work in such areas.

He also called on Abuja and multinational companies to help equip the police to combat crime anywhere in the country.

Security is top on the agenda of South East Governors, Orji said, and it will remain so until the zone rids itself of hoodlums.

Over 1,400 armed policemen personally commanded by Onovo on Saturday night took over the ancient forest and shrine in Azumini on the outskirts of Aba to free the journalists.

Onovo told Daily Independent in a telephone interview from Umuahia: "I don't have much to say for now, because we had little or no sleep for 72 hours. The last 24 hours were nightmarish.

"However, let this operation go down in the history of this country that the police, given the right environment, information and equipment, can squeeze out water from stone.

"I thank God for everything."

However, a source among the squad, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said police located the hideout of the kidnappers at about 1 a.m. on Thursday with the aide of a special voice tracker connected to a mobile telephone network.

His words: "The kidnappers made several mistakes. They used a vehicle with a tracking garget installed in it. Their first telephone call was made to a blackberry handset, and it was to their kingpin.

"Another blunder they made was that their victims were literate people."

Personnel from the Israeli security agency, MOSSAD, used a special voice and sound monitoring equipment to locate the owner of the Blackberry, the main man behind most kidnappings in the South East.

"It was the owner of the blackberry phone (name withheld) who led the police to where the journalists were kept in a house built for the chief priest of the area."

The victims were later abandoned by their captors in a market square in the village.

Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, confirmed that the journalists were rescued by villagers who were combing the bushes with the Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) and mobile policemen.

He said the kidnappers threw away the sim cards in their mobile handsets when they suspected that they were being tracked through the devices.

"When the heat was too much they abandoned the victims and fled. Police arrested four of them on the spot, including the wife of one of the kingpins who was cooking for them," Ojukwu recounted.

He added that Onovo later presented the journalists at a press conference in Umuahia before they were taken to Port Harcourt at 5 p.m. where Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, provided a jet that took them to Lagos.

In all, seven persons, including two senior police officers and two traditional rulers - all masterminds of abductions in the South East - were arrested.

In Lagos, journalists converged on the Ladi Lawal Press Centre for praise worship, sang and danced, to thank God.

In Abuja, Jonathan welcomed the release of the journalists but insisted that Onovo must arrest the kidnappers.

A statement issued by Presidential Spokesman, Ima Niboro, said "their release brings to closure a sordid criminal incident, (the sort) that must be uprooted once and for all in Nigeria."

Jonathan commended the police and Nigerians in general for turning sufficient heat on the criminals, which made them to abandon the victims.

He stressed, however, that "even as we celebrate freedom today, let us insist that this spate of criminality must stop.

"In every way possible, we must say no to these vices, and assist the authorities to expose perpetrators and bring an end to these vices as quickly as possible."

Jonathan expressed felicitations to the freed journalists, their families, and the NUJ.

Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, speaking in Abakaliki, said he will not hesitate to sign death sentence for anyone convicted of kidnapping in his domain.

He told Onovo, who toured police formations in the state and met with opinion leaders in the South East that since the law on death penalty for kidnapping was enacted in the state, the crime has vanished, as the police have also been more equipped to tackle violent crime.

"Kidnapping has become an embarrassment to the Igbo race as our business entrepreneurs now relocate to other parts of the country to establish their enterprises, a situation which reduces investment in our areas," Elechi lamented.

Onovo himself added that, "As someone who comes from this part of the country, I feel embarrassed and embittered that our youths have desecrated the land by holding their own people in captivity for ransom.

"I am touring the police commands in the zone to assess the performance of police personnel and restrategise in order to bring the situation under control in the people's interest."

However, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) declared that the increasing rate of kidnapping and other crimes is the direct consequence of the failure of leadership.

Acting NLC Head of Information, Onah Iduh, noted that those in the political leadership "are too engrossed with power acquisition because of what they stand to personally get out of it to deliver on the responsibilities expected of them.

"The character of our political leadership at all levels contradicts the logic and philosophy of governance which, essentially, is the promotion of human dignity and the protection of core values of society."

Trade Union Congress (TUC) President General, Peter Esele, commended Nigerians for their solidarity in condemning kidnappings, but urged them to pray to the Almighty God to give the criminals a change of heart that would make them return to God.

Newspapers Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN) President, Ajibola Ogunshola, also expressed delight at the release of the journalists.

He expressed hope that this incident would serve as a wake-up call the governments at all levels and the security agencies "that our security requires structural reexamination and greater diligence and commitment from all stakeholders."

Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) President, Gbenga Adefaye, said it is great relief that the journalists are back to their families alive and without harm.

"While we celebrate their lives in freedom, the Guild hopes that the security agents would not relent in the pursuit of those criminals who have done so much to blight our image and condemn us to the jungle."

By Joe Omokaro, Wisdom Patrick, Sylvester Enoghase, Akinwunmi King, Ekene Okoro (Lagos), Chesa Chesa (Abuja), Ben Duru (Umuahia) and Felix Uka (Abakaliki)