Anambra State-born businessman Chief Joseph Ebere Ezeokafor, founder of the Jezco Group, has been released after being kidnapped earlier this week.
Family sources said the industrialist was abducted on Tuesday while heading to a prayer ground in Awka.
He was reportedly released late at night near the Enugu-Anambra border, close to Ebenebe, and was later picked up by a family member.
Ezeokafor is the father of social media personality Eberechukwu “Jowizaza”. Following the abduction, his first child and oldest daughter, Ezeokafor Blessing, a lawyer, made a series of posts on her personal Facebook page about the family and the incident.
In the posts, she alleged that public perception of the family’s wealth was driven by her younger brother’s online lifestyle. She claimed the portrayal was an exaggeration and did not reflect the family’s actual financial situation.
She further alleged that:
1. The family is not as wealthy as portrayed online, describing her brother’s lifestyle as “fake” and “audio money.”
2. The attention drawn by the online lifestyle put a target on their father, a quiet man devoted to serving God.
3. The Jezco Group is facing financial difficulties, including a loan obligation to FCMB and a frozen company account due to unpaid loans. She alleged this was linked to her brother’s management before he was removed as a director.
4. To save the business, her brother was removed as director and placed on a monthly salary of N1 million.
5. She questioned how a N700 million to N1.5 billion ransom demand could be met.
She concluded by appealing to the kidnappers to release her father, whom she described as someone who “did nothing wrong.”
Chief Ezeokafor has now regained his freedom and is with family.
Authorities have not released an official statement on the circumstances of the release or whether a ransom was paid.
