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Tag: Abduct

  • Gunmen abduct Shari’a Court judge inside court in Katsina

    Gunmen abduct Shari’a Court judge inside court in Katsina

    Gunmen have abducted a judge at a Shari’a Court located between Baure Zaka villages in Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.

    The judge, simply identified as Alhaji Husaini Sama’ila was, according to a resident (name withheld), kidnapped at about 3:00 pm today while on a personal visit to the court which was relocated to Safana for security purposes.

    He said the judge was recently moved to Safana town to continue to deliver justice because of the worsening insecurity challenges bedeviling the two villages where the court was established earlier.

    Meanwhile, the police authorities in the state are yet to confirm the incident.

  • JUST IN: Nine abducted senior police officers rescued

    JUST IN: Nine abducted senior police officers rescued

    The Nigeria Police said nine senior officers abducted by gunmen in Katsina since November 8 2020, have been rescued.

    The officers, all Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs), were on their way to Gusau in Zamfara from Maiduguri.

    They were kidnapped between Kankara town and Sheme in Katsina after the night commercial bus they were traveling in came under attack by heavily armed men, all dressed in Military Camouflage suspected to be bandits.

    Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, in a statement on Friday, said a covert operation to locate and rescue the officers commenced immediately they were discovered missing en-route to their destination.

    “The Nigeria Police have successfully rescued Nine (9) Police Officers who earlier went missing on 8th November, 2020 between Kankara town and Sheme in Katsina State after the night commercial bus they were traveling in came under attack by heavily armed men, all dressed in Military Camouflage, but suspected to be bandits.

    “The officers, all Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs), were on their way to Gusau in Zamfara State from Maiduguri at the time of the incident. Two of the officers are currently receiving medical attention in a hospital, while the remaining seven are being debriefed.

    “Covert operation to locate and rescue the officers commenced immediately they were discovered missing en-route to their destination. Thus, the apparent delay in commenting on the unfortunate incident was a deliberate decision aimed at protecting the integrity and confidentiality of the rescue operation and the concomitant safety of the officers.

    “It is also important to state that preliminary investigation has shown that the attack on the vehicle was an opportunistic crime as the officers were all traveling in mufti, unarmed and alongside other private citizens in the commercial vehicle.

    “The total number of officers involved in the incident is nine (9) and not twelve (12) as previously, wrongly reported in some sections of the media.

    “Follow-up investigation into the incident is still ongoing. Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni reassures Nigerians that the Force is working assiduously to ensure an improved safety and tactical presence of police personnel on our highways as the yuletide approaches,” the statement reads.

  • Gunmen kill nine, kidnap several in fresh attack on Katsina communities

    Gunmen kill nine, kidnap several in fresh attack on Katsina communities

    Gunmen suspected to be Fulani bandits have attacked two communities in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

    According to Katsina Post, the communities attacked are Tsauwa and Gandu.

    No fewer than nine persons have been killed by the bandits while numerous others were left injured and many more kidnapped.

    Recall that Tsauwa Village was ransacked by bandits months ago in a revenge attack.

    Killings and kidnapping for ransom have continued in Katsina despite security reinforcement in the state.

  • Unknown gunmen kidnap immigration officer, children in Abuja

    Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted an officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Adamu Suleiman, and his two children, Abdullahi and Balkisu, in Naharati community in Abaji Area Council of the FCT.

    A resident of Naharati said the incident happened early in the morning on Thursday after the gunmen in their large numbers, with sophisticated weapons, invaded the officer’s home.

    He said some of the gunmen scaled the fence of the victims’ house while others stood outside, while carrying out the act. He added that the wife of the officer was prevented from coming out of her room as one of the gunmen stood in front of her door until they whisked the husband and children away.

    As at the time this report was filed spokesman of the FCT Police Command, DSP Anjuguri Manzah was unreachable.

  • Kidnappers reject family’s N5m offer, insist on N50m ransom to free abducted Navy Commander

    Abductors of a serving Naval officer kidnapped last Saturday in Ondo State have insisted on the payment of N50 million ransom to free the senior officer.

    The naval officer was abducted by the kidnappers on Owo-Ikare expressway, at Oba Akoko area in Akoko South East Local Government Area of the state, last Sunday.

    Family sources said the kidnappers contacted the family few hours after the abduction and demanded payment of N50 million before he could be released.

    The source said the family offered N5m or less but the kidnappers refused and insisted that on the N50million before they would release.

    According to the source, “The kidnappers have refused to take anything less than N50million and they have let the family know that. Since that time they have switched off their telephone lines. For now nobody can get through to them.:

    Ondo Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, said security has been beefed up around Akoko axis of the state due to incessant kidnapping.

    He said the joint operation to secure release of the victim was being careful to ensure safety of the victim.

    Police spokesman, ASP Tee-Leo Ikoro said the command was not relenting on ensuring that the officer was rescued unhurt .

    He said, “The command has sought the support of the communities around the area to join hands with the team in searching for the victim.”

  • Gunmen abduct two sisters in Oyo, demand N100m ransom

    Police yesterday confirmed abduction of two sisters – Pastor Omobola Adepoju and Mrs. Abiola Olukotun – on a farm in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    The sisters, who were abducted on Monday, are daughters of the late Chief Emiola Adesina, former Director of Sports, Western Region, who was also the proprietor of Subuola Memorial Nursery/ Primary School, Ibadan. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the abduction.

    He said: “They were kidnapped yesterday (Monday) on a farm near Badeku in Ibadan. The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Shina Olukolu, gave a matching order to burst the crime. “As we speak, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the Special Tactical Team, the Police Tactical Team, Operation Puff Adder, the IGP Tactical Team and the Federal SARS have all been deployed to the area. “They have cordoned off the area as we speak.

    They are carrying out a massive manhunt for the kidnappers in order to secure their release. I spoke with the OC/Anti-Kidnapping and he said they were combing the bush and the adjoining communities in an effort to secure their release.”

    A family source said one of the sisters came from the United States. “Omobola came in from Atlanta and was with her sister on her farm on Ife Road in Ibadan where they were both kidnapped on Monday. The kidnappers have called the family to ask for N100 million,” the source said. Husband of one of the victims, Mr. Kitolu Olukotun, said the abductors were six and that three of them were Fulani herders. He said: “My wife and sister-in-law went to the farm in the afternoon on Monday.

    Suddenly, the kidnappers emerged from the bush. According to one of my boys on the farm, they were six in number. “Three of them are Fulani while the remaining three are Yoruba. One of them was carrying an AK47 rifle which they shot sporadically in the air. They shot at the tyre of the vehicle and also fired a shot at the driver of our customers. “They ransacked the vehicle probably looking for something.

    After that, they marched my wife and the sister-in-law through the bush path. When they called me, they demanded N100 million. But, I told them I don’t have such money; I told them to accept N1 million but they disagreed saying, where? They then refused to speak with me.

    They have been threatening my wife. They insisted they would not take anything less than N20 million.” Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday, the police warned against the indiscriminate construction of unmanned community gates and careless patronage of suspicious commercial motorcyclists by residents in view of the growing spate of insecurity. The Police Commissioner, Olukolu, advised all and sundry to be circumspect in the construction and installation of unmanned security gates in their environment.

  • Abducted senior police officer rescued in Kaduna

    Abducted senior police officer rescued in Kaduna

    An assistant commissioner of police based in Kaduna, Musa Rabo abducted on Saturday was on Sunday rescued unhurt.

    The officer was successfully rescued on Sunday by a combined team of Police operatives from Kaduna, Niger and Zone 7 Command Headquarters Abuja, backed-up by members of the elite Special Forces of the NPF.

    The Police Force Spokesperson, DCP Frank MBA confirmed the latest development on Sunday night in several tweets on Nigeria Police Twitter account.

    Two male suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

    Investigation into the incident is ongoing, Mba said.

    Spokesperson of the Kaduna command, DSP Yakubu Sabo, in an alert earlier on Sunday said the ACP was abducted on Saturday, October 19, at about 3.30 pm.

    According to Sabo, the victim’s car with registration number KRD 753 BT and his identity card were found abandoned along the road by a team of ‘Operation Safe Heaven’.

    Sabo said that the vehicle was abandoned near Kanock Bridge, a border area between Kaduna and Nasarawa states.

    The police spokesperson also said that communication had been established with the kidnappers who requested for ransom.

    Mba said on Sunday night that Rabo was not targeted as a cop.

    “The officer was travelling in his civil dress, with his private vehicle and without escort or any special security at the time of the incident. It was purely an opportunistic crime, indiscriminately and maliciously targeted at citizens using that particular road. He was, perhaps, positionally unlucky at the time of the incident”, he said.

  • Gunmen abduct NRC MD’s wife

    A woman identified as Francisca Okhiria, wife of the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, was abducted on Wednesday by suspected gunmen in Benin, the Edo State capital.

    The gunmen, who were in police uniform, were said to have trailed her from the airport and abducted her on the way to her house.

    It was learnt that the hoodlums, in escaping with the victim, shot a soldier who was standing by the road side.

    Police spokesperson Chidi Nwabuzor, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident last night.

    He said an Army Sergeant attached to the woman was also shot, adding that he was taken to the military hospital for treatment.

    Nwabuzor said the woman was held at Irhirhi at an NNPC filling station in Oredo Local Government Area.

    “It is confirmed that she was kidnapped and the police recovered the vehicle, a Land Cruiser Prado jeep, when the incident took place.

    “The Army sergeant shot by the hoodlums was with her as a security personnel and eventually taken to the military hospital by the police. The gunmen came in a Toyota Camry,” he said.

    He said investigation into the incident had begun.

    Contacted on phone last night, Okhiria was said to be unavailable.

    One of his aides answered the call, saying the NRC chief was not around to speak with our correpondent.

    When asked to confirm the incident, the aide said: “We have no comment for now.”

     

  • Gunmen capture ex-minister Adewole’s son in Oyo

    Gunmen capture ex-minister Adewole’s son in Oyo

    Four gunmen on Tuesday evening kidnapped Dayo Adewole, son of the immediate past Minister for Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole in Iroko, near Fiditi, Afijio local government of Oyo State.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the abduction on Wednesday morning.

    According to Fadeyi, “The man, Dayo Adewole, was abducted by four gunmen around 6:30pm at Iroko. The Area Commander in Moniya and other patrol teams had been alerted and are presently giving the armed men a hot chase.

    “We are on their trail as I speak with you and more deployments had been made to rescue the guy and track down the abductors,” Fadeyi said.

    He stated that a car with which the gunmen abducted Dayo had been discovered.

    According to reports,the ex-minister has been informed of the incident and is on his way back to Nigeria from his trip abroad.

    A source said Dayo was waylaid at gunpoint on his farm in Iroko.

    He said “The villagers were alerted by the staff who survived the attack and local hunters were mobilised by the Oniroko of Iroko.

    “The hunters were said to have located the car of the abductors along the road to Iware village near Iroko, but are yet to locate Dayo’s whereabouts. It was suspected that the kidnappers might have changed their vehicle following persistent announcement on radio after the Oniroko had raised the alarm.”

     

  • Gunmen attack, abduct travellers on Abuja Kaduna Highway

    There was pandemonium on the Abuja-Kaduna Highway on Monday evening as kidnappers in their numbers took centre stage of the busy highway robbing and kidnapping several people.

    According to eye witness reports, before they could apply brakes, several vehicles crashed because of the speed with which the drivers were moving. Distress calls were later put across to different security agencies to rescue the victims.

    The Nigerian Army later responded by dispatching about three truckloads of soldiers.

    However, the dare devil kidnappers operated for about 30 minutes on the highway without intervention of security agents.

    Before a team of soldiers and police officers arrived, many travellers had been abducted and taken into the bush, witnesses said.

    Amongst them were occupants of a Toyota Hilux truck and a Toyota Corolla sedan. Some other vehicles were riddled with bullets, witnesses said.

    Police and military spokespersons did not return separate calls seeking comments late Monday.

    The highway has remained one of the most dangerous in the country with rampant kidnapping and robbery happening there frequently.

    The police regularly conduct raids of remote villages on the highway’s fringes, but the kidnappers usually regroup shortly afterwards.