TheNewsGuru

Tag: Kidnapped

  • Police vow to rescue four seminarians kidnapped in Kaduna

    The Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, Umar Muri, has visited the Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaduna where four students were abducted and assured that the police would secure their release.

    A statement by the command’s spokesman, Yakubu Sabo issued to newsmen on Friday said the commissioner undertook on-the-spot assessment of the scene and the level of security arrangement at the seminary with a view to fortify the structure.

    The statement said the police commissioner also sympathised with the management of the school over the ugly incident.

    It said that the command had mobilised its personnel to track the perpetrators and had reached out to the Inspector General of Police Intelligent Response Team for technical support.

    “The bandits accessed the school dormitory where two hundred and sixty eight (268) students were being accommodated,” the statement added.

    It said the school’s management applauded the timely response of the command and expressed confidence that the police would secure the release of all the victims unhurt.

    According to the statement, Muri appealed to people of the state to come closer to the police to create harmonious working relationships in their respective communities.

    TheNewsGuru, TNG has earlier reported that the four seminary students were kidnapped by armed men in military camouflage on Thursday.

  • Gunmen abduct medical doctor in Yola, NMA speaks

    Gunmen stormed the house of a medical doctor in Yola in the early hours of Sunday and abducted a medical doctor.

    Sources said the gunmen took Dr Abdurrahman Muhammad Kawuyo of the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, from his home in Lakare, a community in Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State, and have asked for a N10 million ransom.

    The state Chairman of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), DR Tunde Elijah, said of the incident, “I have been told that the bandits came in the early hours of the night and picked Dr. Kawuyo from his house.

    “One of our colleagues who was not aware of the kidnapping called to have some professional information from Dr. Kawuyo, but the call was picked by a strange person who passed it over to the doctor.

    “That’s how we got the firsthand information about the incident. The Kidnappers are demanding for N10 million to have Dr. Kawuyo regain his freedom, but negotiation is ongoing.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Adamawa State, DSP Sulaiman Nguroje, told newsmen that the incident occurred at 4 am.

    He said the medical doctor packed into his house recently while it was still being worked on.

    “It is an uncompleted building. The doctor packed into it, we understand, because he was tired of paying rent where he was.

    He said the police had moved into action by mobilising men and officials to go after the kidnappers and free the doctor.

    “As we talk, our men and combing the entire area and around the hills to get at the abductors and secure the medical doctor’s freedom,” the PPRO said.

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  • Gunmen kidnap 6-year-old Bayelsa commissioner’s son

    About four unidentified gunmen stormed the New Commissioner’s quarters in Yenagoa on Sunday night and abducted a six-year-old son of a Commissioner.

    The abducted victim was identified as the son of the Commissioner for Water Resources, Nengi Talbot.

    The gunmen were said to have broken into the house of Talbot at the quarters located in Opolo and demanded money from the commissioner.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said the incident happened at about 11pm adding that the assailants seized the boy when the commissioner insisted he had no money.

    “Apart from the boy, the ransacked the apartment and left with some valuables”, he said.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident.

    He said: “On 22/12/2019 at about 2230 hours, about four unknown gunmen invaded the residence of the Commissioner for water resources, Hon. Nengi Talbot, at the New Commissioners quarters Opolo, Yenagoa, and abducted his six year old son, one Antonio Talbot to an unknown destination.

    “The command has launched a manhunt to rescue the victim and arrest the suspects. Investigation is ongoing”.

  • JUST IN: Police Inspector, one other person kidnapped in Abuja

    JUST IN: Police Inspector, one other person kidnapped in Abuja

    A police inspector identified as Selven and one Nengba Mundi have been reportedly kidnapped at Rubochi community in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    The two men were abducted on Sunday, barely 48 hours after gunmen whisked away from the younger brother to a former Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Mohammed Galadima, in the same community.

    The kidnappers were said to have invaded the community in their large numbers at midnight while firing indiscriminately.

    The deputy spokesperson, Federal Capital Territory police command, ASP Miriam Yusuf, promised to provide details of the incident later.

  • Kidnapped Civil Defence operatives released, says commandant

    The Edo State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has confirmed the release of two of its senior operatives abducted on Sept. 27.

    The Commandant, Mr Makinde Ayinla, confirmed the release in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Tuesday.

    Ayinla said the operatives were released early on Tuesday by their abductors at Ebelle community in the Igueben Local Government Area of Edo.

    He said, however, that no ransom was paid to secure the release of the operatives.

    The commandant thanked the Nigeria Police, the vigilante in Ebelle town and the families of the abducted workers.

    Ayinla also commended other security agencies for their support and collaboration in ensuring the release of the two men.

    The two officials were abducted at about 2:30 p.m. at the railway bridge between Ebelle and Ewosa communities on the Ebelle-Agbor highway on their way to Benin.

  • How daughter of Ex-Adamawa Gov aspirant was kidnapped, released in Abuja

    Aisha Umar Ado, daughter of a former governorship aspirant in Adamawa state, Dr. Umar Ardo, was kidnapped by gunmen in Abuja on Saturday night. But she was freed on Sunday, her father announced.

    Aisha, aged 24 years and popularly called Ummi, was abducted on Saturday at about 7:45pm at Blinkers Shopping Mall, at 46, Kwame Nkrumah Crescent in Asokoro, Abuja.

    According to a reports, the gunmen in an ash Toyota Camry car initially parked close to the shopping mall.

    Aisha Umar Ardo, kidnapped in Asokoro and released in Gwarimpa

    Aisha was coming out of the shopping mall with the provisions she bought when the gunmen blocked her with their car, forced her in and whisked her away.

    Aisha’s father, Dr. Umar Ardo, contested for the governorship of Adamawa state under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011 election.

    However, in a statement published Sunday night on the Facebook page of Abubakar Sadiq Ajiya, Ardo said his daughter has been freed. He did not indicate whether he paid ransom to the abductors.

    “I’m glad to inform all and sundry that my daughter, Ai’sha, has been released by her abductors. I collected her somewhere around Gwarimpa where they dumped her by the roadside. She is safe and sound. I thank you and all Nigerians for the support given to me during these trying hours. I appreciate that it”, he said.

  • Six INEC staff kidnapped, released in Kogi

    Six INEC staff kidnapped, released in Kogi

    Six staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were kidnapped and later released in Lokoja, Kogi State during the state assembly election on Saturday.

    The kidnapping of the staff was one of the incidents recorded during the election that was generally marred by violence.

    The staff were kidnapped by armed thugs decked in fake police and army uniforms at the polling unit inside the Crowther Memorial College in Lokoja.

    They were taken away in a van by their armed abductors.

    The Director of publicity in Lokoja office of the INEC, Mr Ahmed Bimabo said the victims were released few hours later and were being medically examined at the Lokoja office of the commission.

    He did not say whether the workers returned with the sensitive election materials and ballot boxes that were seized by the hoodlums as they were taken away.

    Also in Ward D area of Lokoja , the election was marred by violence launched by thugs who invaded the area when the election was underway.

    A witness said that voting took place in only in one out of the five polling units.

    Hoodlums were also on the rampage at the workers village on Hassan Usman Katsina Road in Lokoja.

    Masked armed hoodlums invaded the village and carted away ballot papers and sensitive election materials from the only polling unit in the area, amid gunshots.

    At Ganaja village , a former Commissioner for information in the state, Mr Anthony Puke lost his bungalow and three cars, as they were set ablaze by hoodlums.

    Puke is said to be a chieftain of the APC. Why the hoodlums attacked him was not so clear.

    Also incidents of ballot box snatching were recorded during the election in Kabba/Bunu, Yagba West, Yagba East and Ijumu local government areas of the state.

    Sunday Karimi, who represents Yagba federal Constituency in the House of Representatives described the election as sham.

    ” There is no need for future election . They have taken us back to the old days when crude ways and outright manipulation of figures were the order of the day,” he said.

    Karimi lamented the use of armed thugs in fake police and military uniforms for ballot box snatching and arm twisting of traditional rulers to win election at all cost.

    Meanwhile , the election has ended and results being collated at the ward level.

    The turnout for the election was generally low but the card readers performed better than what happened during the Feb. 23 elections.

    It was.also observed that the INEC made better preparations when compared with the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 23 February.

  • 81 people, mostly school children, kidnapped in Cameroon

    81 people, mostly school children, kidnapped in Cameroon

    More than 80 people, mostly students, were kidnapped from a school in the city of Bamenda in western Cameroon by gunmen on Sunday, government and military sources said.

    No one immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction in the English-speaking region where separatists are fighting to form a breakaway state.

    The separatists have imposed curfews and closed down schools as part of their protest against President Paul Biya’s French-speaking government.

    “In total 81 people were kidnapped including the school principal. They were taken to the bush,” a military source said.

    A report claimed 78 students, a driver and another teacher were among those kidnapped.

    A government spokesman said it was keeping track of an event but that it could not comment further.

    According to Journalducameroon.com, the gunmen stormed the Presbyterian Secondary School Nkwen before rounding off the students to an unknown destination.

    The Principal of the school, a driver and another teacher were also kidnapped, local sources confirmed.

    Though figures are still not exact for the moment, a source at the North West Governor’s office said they remain cautious for the moment to give out figures not to create panic in some schools.

    Most of the students kidnapped, were students of Form Five preparing for the GCE O’ Level and have appeared in a video posted online by pro separatist activists.

    Authorities of the North West region say security forces have launched an operation to rescue the children and called on the local community to remain calm.

    The separatist movement gathered pace in 2017 after a government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

    Many people have fled Bamenda and other centres to seek refuge in more peaceful Francophone regions.. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Police rescue kidnapped INEC worker, minor, 7 others

    The police in Akwa Ibom State have rescued Mr Otobong Ukpong, an employee of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) kidnapped on June 5 on his way to work, a minor and seven others.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi, said in Uyo on Saturday that the police with other security agencies about noon flushed out some hoodlums terrorising Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun local government areas (LGAs) and rescued nine kidnap victims.

    “Today, I am delighted to inform you that at about 12 p.m. my men of “Operation Purge” saddled with responsibility of flushing out the hoodlums terrorising Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun LGAs achieved a great breakthrough.

    “They rescued nine kidnapped victims one of whom is the staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Otobong Sylvester Ukpong, 34 years old, from Iwukem in Etim Ekpo kidnapped on June 5, 2018,” the commissioner said.

    He identified the other victims as Eno Udo ‘M’ 50 years, Eno Okon ‘F’ 37 years, Uduak Fred ‘F’ 45 years, Charity Peter’F’ 54 years.

    Others are Bessy Okpon ‘F’ 55 years, Esther Okpon ‘F’ 35 years, Victoria Udo ‘F’ 50 years and Imaobong ‘F’ 14 years.
    The commissioner said on Thursday the police also rescued an unknown lady who was still in comma, adding that the rescue operation led to the death of one gallant policeman, Sgt. Shedrach Stephen.

    He said that during the operation, the police also recovered from the hoodlums bullet proof vests, police and military uniforms, live ammunition, cartridges and charms.

    Ogumjemilusi said that the command was committed to sustain the tempo in crime fighting and protection of lives and property in Akwa Ibom.

    “Let me again assure the good people of Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun LGAs of our commitment to restore peace and security to their communities and every other community in Akwa Ibom,” he said.

    He commended the government and people of Akwa Ibom for their support to the police and other security agencies toward reducing crime to the barest minimum.

    The INEC worker, Ukpong, said he was kept in the bush and fed once a day by his abductors.
    He thanked God, the security agencies and the people for their prayers throughout the period of his incarceration.

  • Three charged for kidnapping ‘Halloween’ actress

    Three charged for kidnapping ‘Halloween’ actress

    Three people have been formally indicted for kidnapping “Halloween: Resurrection” actress Daisy McCrackin and actor Joseph Capone, holding one naked in a bathtub for 30 hours while demanding the other pay a $10,000 ransom, Yahoo News reports.

    Keith Andre Stewart, Johntae Jones and Amber Neal were charged with 17 felony counts, including kidnapping, assault with a firearm, grand theft, mayhem and conspiracy and possession for sale of methamphetamine, according to a grand jury indictment on Tuesday.

    Prosecutors say the three of them traveled to McCrackin’s home on May 3, where Stewart pistol-whipped Capone. The trio then placed black hoods over the actors’ heads and drove them to Jones’s home in Compton.

    There, the trio stripped Capone naked and forced him to stay in a bathtub for 30 hours without food.

    Jones and Neal meanwhile took McCrackin’s car and drove her to various banks demanding she pay at least $10,000 to free Capone.

    Finally, McCrackin was forced to write a check for the same amount to Neal, who dropped it into her account, the indictment says.

    The group brought McCrackin back to her home on May 4, where she escaped and contacted police, leading to the defendants’ arrest.

    Neal’s arrest with her hands up in front of multiple police cars and police officers with their weapons drawn, has been viewed more than 3.2 million times on Twitter, the original poster suggesting it was an example of police violence toward African Americans.

    The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said Stewart and Jones face a maximum possible sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged, while Neal faces up to life in prison.

    Bail was set at $1 million for Jones and Neal, and $2.08 million for Stewart. They are due in court for a pretrial hearing July 23 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center county courthouse.