• Six Pupils Kidnapped In Nasarawa
• Catholic Catechist Whisked In Kaduna
• Monarch, Wives, Six Children Among Victims In Taraba
• 15 Abducted, Three Killed In Edo
• Imo Council Chairman Shot, Abducted With Two Friends, Residence Razed
• ‘We Are Now At The Mercy Of God’

Ahead of the forthcoming general election, many Nigerians have been thrown into fear following the spate of kidnapping in the country between Thursday night and Saturday evening.

Reports gathered from across the country indicated that no fewer than 19 persons were kidnapped in the last 24 hours, with relatives of the victims and residents of the communities where the incidents took place crying out to the security agencies for help.

The victims the kidnap incidents included school children, traditional rulers, cleric and ordinary Nigerians. In Nasarawa State, gunmen abducted six school pupils in the early hours of Saturday.

According to an eyewitness, the gunmen stormed LGEA Primary School, Alwaza, in Doma local council of the state and abducted the children while they were on assembly.  

“The children were on the assembly ground when the abductors showed up and ordered the pupils to follow them, while the staff conducting the assembly escaped. Other pupils were just shouting and crying for help, as the six victims were driven away on motorcycle,” the eyewitness narrated. 

The state Police Public Relation Officer, Nasarawa State Command, DSP Rahman Nansel who confirmed the incident, disclosed that a joint security team comprising the police, military and vigilante had been mobilised and were on the trail of the abductors.

In Taraba State, gunmen kidnapped the traditional ruler of Mutum-Biyu in Gassol Local Council, Justice Sani Suleiman Duna (rtd.), his two wives and six children. The incident, which occurred at about 1.00a.m, Friday night, ignited palpable tension in the community and its environs.

One of the palace guards, who also confirmed the abduction of the king and his family members, said the kidnappers took the people of the community unawares.

Apart from calling on the state government to collaborate with the security agencies in ensuring the release of the monarch, he also stressed the need for the relevant authorities to ensure a watertight security in the council.

He said: “We have not been going to bed with our two eyes closed in this local council. We want the government to come to our aid, by deploying more security men to this place. This has become necessary.”

Also confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abdullahi Usman, said the monarch, his two wives and six children were all abducted in Mutum-Biyu by unknown gunmen, assuring that the command has put in place all the needed apparatus that would assist in rescuing the monarch and his family unhurt. He also called on any person with useful information about the kidnappers to reach out to the command.

At the time of filing this report, the kidnappers had made no communication to the victims’ family members. Similarly, gunmen last week abducted Mr. Kefas Ishaya, the Catechist of St. Monica Catholic Church, Ikulu-Pari, in Chawai Chiefdom of Kauru local council, Kaduna State.