Some suspected bandits have abducted the district head of Adabka in Bukkuyum local government area of Zamfara state, Alhaji Nafi’u Shehu and his royal aid, Malam Ashiru Umar.
A resident of the town who spoke to Blueprint via telephone Sunday under anonymity, explained that the bandits stormed the town around 12:30pm Saturday and went straight to the palace of the district head, operated for almost one hour and took their victims away.
He claimed “the incident occurred following the withdrawal of mobile police operatives in the area barely one week ago.
“The attack on Adabka town occurred few hours after some gunmen launched attacks on three communities of Dangurunfa, Masamar Mudi and Mallamawa area of same Bukkuyum local government in which they killed eight persons and abducted scores of people,” said the source.
However, efforts to reach the spokesman of the state Police command, SP Muhammad Shehu, proved abortive as he couldn’t pick several phone calls by our correspondent.
Katsina
In a related development, another group of bandits reportedly killed 12 villagers and injured 6 persons in Duba community in Batsari local government area of Katsina state Saturday night, the state Police command has confirmed.
Speaking to journalists, Sunday, spokesman of the command, Isa Gambo, said the bandits, numbering over 300, and armed with General Purpose Machine Guns, RPGs, including Anti-Aircraft, invaded the community around 8.45 pm Saturday.
“The bandits had upon their arrival at the Duba community started shooting sporadically into the air after which they looted a number of shops and rustled some domestic animals belonging to the residents.
”As a result of the attack, twelve people were killed while six were injured,” he said.
Gambo said the joint team of the Military, Police and Air Force personnel were on the trail of the criminals.
Bethel students
And from Kaduna state came the report thatparents of the 15 kidnapped Bethel Baptist High School were in celebration mood amidst the assurance that the remaining 63 others would be freed.
Giving the assurance, Sunday, President of Baptist Convention Rev. Israel Akanji said God would help free the 63 others still in captivity.
The parents’ joy however knew no bound Sunday when they were reunited with their children, kidnapped from their boarding school in the early hours of July 5, 2021.
Blueprint recalled that the bandits broke into the school located at Damishi along the Kaduna – Kachia highway, Chikun local government area of the state and whisked away 121 students.
The kidnappers released 28 of the students, Sunday, July 25 after receiving N50 million ransom and later released few others on health ground, while some escaped on their own leaving 78 students in captivity.
The bandits thereafter made fresh demand of N80 million ransom to release the remaining 78 students in captivity.
Although Blueprint reliably gathered that ransom was paid for release of the 15 students, the amount could not be established as at the time of this report.
Handing over the children to their parents at the Baptist secretariat along Ahmadu Bello way, Rev. Akanji said they expected the bandits to release all the remaining 78 students.
“We are grateful to God for the release of these 15 children. Although the number is smaller than what we expected, because we had 78 out there; they have given us 15, that means 63 to come, but in everything, God said we should give thanks and we are grateful for what He has done. And we are trusting that the same God will help us to receive the remaining 63.
“We have great hope in God and we will keep praying and keep asking God for help. We do not know why they did not release all the children; we were really expecting all the children, but these are the ones we have. So, we are giving thanks to God and we are trusting God that others too will come,” Akanji said.
He, however, declined to comment on the ransom paid.
The students were conveyed to the Baptist Secretariat in an 18-seater bus, few minutes after many of their parents were brought in two similar vehicles.
The parents could not hide their joy, as they sang praises and shed tears on sighting their children who had spent 46 days in the kidnappers’ den.
Though they had been refreshed before being officially handed over to their parents, the students were all looking traumatic and in need of treatment and care.
