The gunmen who reportedly attacked the community and the monarch’s palace on Sunday night between 10:30 to 11:00 pm, also abducted the monarch’s wife, Patience Tari, and one of his aides, Kefas Shehu, to an unknown destination, while demanding the sum of N20 million for their release.
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have killed a police escort of the traditional ruler of Nakera community in the Wamba Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The gunmen who reportedly attacked the community and the monarch’s palace on Sunday night between 10:30 to 11:00 pm, also abducted the monarch’s wife, Patience Tari, and one of his aides, Kefas Shehu, to an unknown destination, while demanding the sum of N20 million for their release.
According to Oriku, security threats in the community had heightened in the past six months despite several pleas for the deployment of more security personnel to the area.
Oriku lamented that “The level of insecurity in the entire Wamba LGA is becoming unbearable. Kidnapping for ransom has now become the order of the day.”
He further said that “On Sunday when the gunmen attacked the community, they came in their numbers and they were shooting in several directions, but because it was late at night, many of us (residents) remained inside our houses. It was later that night that we heard about the death of the policeman and the kidnap of two people from the monarch’s house.
“We heard that the monarch was able to escape during the attack with the help of some of the villagers. Also, we were told that the kidnappers went away with the killed policeman’s rifle.
“It was after the attack that the military arrived in the community to render security assistance to us. By then, the armed men had already gone very far with their victims because it was close to one hour after the operation before they (military) came.
“I am appealing to the Nasarawa State Government to urgently look into the matter of insecurity in communities across Wamba LGA with a view to proffering a lasting solution to the steady attacks by bandits.”
However, it was reported that the kidnappers have reached out to the family, demanding a N20million ransom for their release.
A family source was quoted as saying that “The kidnappers are now demanding a whopping sum of N20 million before they would be released from captivity.
“The community has been thrown into confusion since they were kidnapped because most people here are farmers. Now that they (kidnappers) are requesting that huge amount of money, I really don’t know what we will do about the matter.
“At this moment, we need the help of the state government and other good-spirited Nigerians to come to our aide because we do not have the resources to pay for their release.”
The Nasarawa State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ramhan Nansel, who confirmed the incident said that the Commissioner of Police, Umar Nadada, had directed a thorough investigation into the matter with a view to rescuing the kidnapped victims unhurt and to ensure that normalcy returns to the community.
The police spokesperson said, “The incident happened last night (Sunday), and the command has launched an investigation into the case. Efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the dastardly act.”