By Amos Aar
THE IMMEDIATE past caretaker committee chairman of Ukum local government council in Benue State, Rev. Gideon Haanongon, who recently regained freedom from kidnappers’ den and subsequently removed from office, has blamed his ordeals on the Chief of Staff (COS) to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Mr Paul Biam, and the Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Matthew Abo.
Haanongon, who spoke in a phone interview with National Record on Monday, alleged that both Biam and Abo had threatened him on different occasions to unseat him.
He alleged that the threats were due to what he described as personal interests rather than the issue of financial misconduct hanged on his neck to sack him from office.
The former chairman also revealed that he paid N15 million ransom to regain freedom from his captors as against media reports that he was rescued by soldiers.
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Debunking the accusation of financial misappropriation that allegedly led to his removal from office by Governor Alia, Haanongon said: “I did not embezzle any funds. I was appointed caretaker chairman on December 3, 2024 but funds were not released to us and there was nothing in the local government treasury. So, where did I get money to embezzle?”
He also asked: “I was kidnapped in January and I was in the kidnappers’ den for two weeks. I came back in January and today they are saying I misappropriated money, is it inside the bush that I was misappropriating the money?
“Secondly, on their accusation that I have boys in the bush (kidnappers), tell me, which wise man will put his hand on the ground and cut it?
“Those boys did not even know me because when I was kidnapped, they were asking, is this the chairman? They said they were given my name to kill me”.
He cried out that he was sacked from office when the huge debts he incurred to pay the ransom were still on his neck and wondered where he would get money to settle the debts!
“When I was released, I was interviewed by the DSS. Governor also gave me audience and I told him everything. So, I was expecting to hear from them.
“But it is unfortunate that despite the huge ransom that I borrowed a lot of money to pay, I have now been rewarded with a sack and a false accusation that I misappropriated funds. Where did I get the money?
“The money my people borrowed to pay ransom for my release, the huge debts are still hanging on my neck till today now that I’m out of office”, Haanongon disclosed.
Asked how much was the ransom, he said the abductors charged him N50 million but he begged them until they accepted to collect N15 million. “But since I was born, I have not seen N15 million with my eyes but that 15 million was paid without any kobo remaining.
“When I came out and people were saying I regained freedom through soldiers’ efforts, I wondered”.
Haanongon also lamented that instead of the DSS to act on the information he gave them about those he suspected to have sponsored his abduction, they did not do anything about it and he was rather sacked from office instead.
“I spoke with the DSS about my suspects but at the end of it all, I was sacked from office. That is the reward I have got from it and I thank God”.
Haanongon is also suspecting his successor, Hon. Victor Iorzaa, whom he alleged was eying his position and had vowed not to greet him.
“We were six in number that contested for the caretaker chairmanship and one of those who lost vowed not to greet me in his life. He is the one who is appointed chairman now that I have been sacked”.
On why he pointed accusing fingers at Paul Biam and the commissioner of information, Haanongon said, “the commissioner of information said in my presence that I will not last up to three months in that position. The day he said that on Friday night, I was kidnapped on Saturday.
National Record recalls that the information commissioner was kidnapped and released not long before Rev. Gideon Haanongon was also abducted.
He continued: “Paul Biam said he made me the caretaker chairman but I didn’t recognise him as my godfather. He said it in my presence and the boys I suspected on the very day I was kidnapped are his errand boys.
“When the assembly member representing Ukum state constituency met Paul Biam and asked him questions about my abduction, he grew annoyed.
“Paul Biam and the commissioner ordered that the DPO should arrest and detain the boy I sent to go round and look for money to pay ransom for me. What was the motive behind them ordering the arrest and detention of that boy? It was because if the boy was detained, I would remain in captivity and that’s exactly what went on.
“Again, when Biam took the new chairman home yesterday (February 25, 2024), he told people that I was given chairmanship by a Kparev man. So, he has removed me from the position, let him see what will happen to him.
Asked who the Kparev man is, Haanongon said “he meant Fada (Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Benue state governor). He owns the boys in the bush”
Both Paul Biam and Matthew Abo did not pick phone calls put to them by National Record, neither did they respond to enquiry SMS and WhatsApp messages sent to them on the allegations against them.
