The lack of visible progress in the case has led to frustration and anger from the DO’s family especially after the administrator recently clocked 100 days in the hands of his kidnappers.
It has been over 100 days since Ewane Roland, the Divisional Officer, DO of Idabato Subdivision in the Ndian Division in the South West Region, was abducted along with council staff member Etongo Ismaiel on October 1, 2024. The two were kidnapped by armed men alleged to be pirates from neighboring Nigeria. Despite the passage of time, little information has been released about their whereabouts or safety, leaving the public and their families in growing distress.
A viral video from November showed the DO in captivity, suspended by his hands and feet, crying for help. The video revealed his captors demanding a ransom of 700,000 USD, with threats of death if their demands were not met. Initially, the kidnappers had asked for 5 million USD, 10 generators, and a 200-horsepower Yamaha engine, but the ransom demands were gradually reduced, first to 3 million USD, then to 1 million USD, and finally to the 700,000 USD figure.
The lack of progress in the case has led to frustration and anger from the DO’s family, especially his wife, Rose Ewane, who has expressed feeling abandoned by the authorities. She revealed that her husband’s superior, the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Ndian, repeatedly reminded her that “the government does not negotiate with terrorists,” a statement that has only added to the family’s sense of hopelessness. She has criticized the government’s inaction, despite public assurances from regional and national officials that efforts were underway to secure their release. The South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai, had issued a 72-hour ultimatum for the DO’s release, but no progress has been made.
Exactly 53 days later, Ministers René Emmanuel Sadi and Paul Atanga Nji also made public statements promising to secure their release, but with no tangible outcomes 100 days later. “Every possible effort is being made to preserve the lives of the DO of Idabato as well as that of his colleague and to obtain a happy resolution to this unfortunate affair,” stated Communication Minister and government spokesperson René Emmanuel Sadi.
With each passing day, fears grow that the two captives may have already been killed, and the silence from the government only deepens the anxiety of their families and the broader community, who fear the DO and his colleague have been abandoned to languish in the captivity of either the pirates or the Biafra group. The families have cried out to all the gods they know to liberate their loved ones and bring them back alive. However, it remains unclear whether the kidnappers belong to the Biafra movement or are pirates in Bakassi, as both groups operate in the area and often have common rivals.
