Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen have reportedly kidnapped the suspended Chairman of Okpokwu Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, Mrs Amina Audu. It was gathered that the embattled chairman was kidnapped alongside her driver yesterday morning, November 13, 2023.
A witness, Mrs Audu and her driver were passing through Naka/Makurdi road yesterday when gunmen suspected to be herders ambushed them at Tyolaha Ahume point and abducted them. The witness, who did not want to be named, told newsmen that the suspected herders shot at the moving car and forced it to a halt, rushed at them and whisked them away.
“The incident happened this morning close to Tyolaha Ahume village, along Naka/Makurdi road, when gunmen ambushed a moving car and shot at it until it stopped. Immediately, the gunmen swooped on a woman and the driver and ran into the bush,” the source said.
When contacted, one of the colleagues of the suspended chairman of Ado Local Government, James Oche, confirmed the abduction. “It is true, I learnt she was kidnapped alongside her driver and they (kidnappers) are yet to make contact with anyone,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benue State, SP Catherine Anene, was not available to confirm the incident, nor did she pick up her calls nor reply to messages sent to her phone. Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Security and Internal Affairs, Joseph Har, said he didn’t have the details of the incident.
Also, the Director of Servicom at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Prof. Patrick Egaga, was on Sunday night abducted by gunmen at the university’s staff quarters. Egaga, who is a professor at the Department of Special Education in the institution, was said to have been abducted at his residence.
The Police Command in Cross River, which confirmed the abduction in Calabar, yesterday, said that action has been initiated to secure his release.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Irene Ugbo, who confirmed the incident, said “Though the family didn’t report the incident, we are working to secure his release.”
The institution’s spokesperson, Mr Effiong Eyo, also said the university learnt of the abduction yesterday morning. The gunmen were said to have whisked the don away through the river that overlooked the university’s staff quarters. It was gathered that they also came in through the same river that connects Calabar to the Akpabuyo local government area of the state.
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