Laleye Dipo in Minna
The mother of the one of longest serving members of the Niger State house of Assembly, Alhaji Bello Ahmed Agwara, has been kidnapped.
The 78-year-old Hajia Salamatu Ahmadu was abducted at about 9p.m. on Thursday night when some heavily armed gunmen riding on four motorcycles raided the country home of the Peoples Democractic Party (PDP) member in Agwara town.
This is coming on the heels of the killing of two people and kidnap of several others at Tegina in the Rafi local government also on Thursday.
According to eyewitnesses the bandits were armed with different types of weapons, among them AK-47.
Immediately they stormed the town they started shooting sporadically making members of the community to scamper for safety.
In the confusion it was learnt that the bandits went straight into the private residence of the lawmaker and whisked away his mother and some other villagers to an unknown destination.
The bandits also reportedly rustled some cattle.
The eyewitness said the shells picked from the community after the operation were so many and some experts claimed “even the Nigerian Army did not have those types of bullets.”
A very senior official of the state House of Assembly who did not want his name in the press when contacted confirmed the story.
“We have gone to his house in Minna to commiserate with him,” the official told THISDAY.
It was learnt that the bandits had already made contact with the legislator during which they asked for N100m ransom before the woman would be released.
All efforts to contact Alhaji Bello was abortive as he was not picking his calls or responding to text messages.
The Police Public Relations Officer Niger State Police Command DSP Wasiu Abiodun could not be reached for confirmation of the story.
The gunmen who were said to be many reportedly went from house to house dispossessing the people of their property and forcing them to release their cattle.
It was learnt that the bandits blocked the major road into the town during the operation making it impossible for assistance to reach the troubled villagers.
However on their way out it was learnt that the vehicles in which the bandits were escaping ran out of fuel resulting in some of the gunmen returning to Kwana-Tegina to ask the villagers to release 2000 litres of fuel and N50,000 worth of recharge cards before those kidnapped would be released.
THISDAY was told that the security operatives had been alerted about the latest development.
