Taiwo Popoola
The Chairman of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Abia State, Felix Olunkwa, has narrated his ordeal at the hands of kidnappers who grabbed him in 2024, in Abia State.
Olunkwa said this at the State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Umuahia, on Wednesday during Abia NUJ’s monthly Congress.
He stated that it was the widespread and sustained publicity from members of the NUJ and other media practitioners that aided his freedom.
The Abia NIPR Chairman, while thanking the journalists for being alive to their duty, said they reached out to the State government and other relevant bodies, which, according to him, saved him from dying in the hideout where he was kept.
“When I was kidnapped, you did not keep quiet, you gave wide publicity, and you did all you could to reach out to the State government for my rescue. I thank God that I did not die in captivity, and I am here to say a word of appreciation,” he said.
He promised that there would be a sustained partnership between the NUJ and NIPR under his watch, while commending the executive members of Abia NUJ for their efforts in the State.
Responding, the Chairman of NUJ, Abia State Council, Chidi Asonye, while thanking God for rescuing the NIPR Chairman from captivity, said Olunkwa had taken the right step by coming to acknowledge the roles played by journalists.
Asonye reiterated that journalists would continue to play their roles of engendering a better society for the people and promised more collaborative work between the NUJ and NIPR in Abia.
