Kaduna tops list of states with highest number of kidnap cases
- A newspaper report names some of the routes prone to kidnappings to include the Obajana-Lokoja, Ajaokuta-Lokoja and Kabba-Obajana roads
- Armed bandits shift operation to the Birnin-Gwari part of Kaduna state
- The chief of army staff (COAS), Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, asks soldiers to protect themselves as army begins operation in Birnin Gwari and environs
Kaduna state now tops the list of states with the highest number of kidnap cases according to a report released by Daily Trust on Saturday, June 9.
The report stated that in the past year, out of the 36 states in Nigeria:
1. Kaduna recorded the highest case of abductions with 157 kidnapped persons
2. followed by Rivers state with 61
3. Niger, 37
4. The Federal Capital Territory 22 cases
5. Ondo and Cross River state, 21
The newspaper stated that in 2017 alone, over 100 passengers were reportedly abducted in seven different routes across the country.
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It named some of the routes prone to kidnappings to include the Obajana-Lokoja, Ajaokuta-Lokoja and Kabba-Obajana roads, all in Kogi state.
The Auchi-Abuja and Benin-Akure roads in Edo state, the Abuja-Kaduna road, Abuja-Kaduna expressway and Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road.
Findings by the Daily Trust reveals that one of the routes notorious for kidnapping is the Kaduna-Abuja route. It however stated that the danger seems to have shifted more recently to the Birnin-Gwari part of the state where it was reported that armed bandits held hostage 23 travellers on the Birnin-Gwari to Kaduna route at Kwanar-tsauni, between Udawa and Labi on Friday, June 8.
A commercial driver named Mohammed Kebi, who managed to escape said five vehicles were intercepted during the incident. He said among those kidnapped was a nursing mother.
In Rivers where cases of abduction are also reportedly high, medical doctors have been major targets. The report stated that in 2015 a medical doctor based at Elekahia part of the state was abducted by gunmen.
Five days after his abduction, his body was reportedly found in the bush. This was said to have sparked off protests by medical doctors in the state as they matched to the government house to lodge their complaint to Governor Nyesom Wike.
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This was not the only incident. In 2017 it was reported that doctors became apprehensive after five of their colleagues were taken. These included Dr. Bob-Manuel Clark, a medical doctor based in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area, Alex Akani, a consultant physician with the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and another consultant with UPTH, Borimari.
Meanwhile, the chief of army staff (COAS), Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, has charged troops to end the killings and destruction of property in Birnin Gwari local government in Kaduna state by armed bandits within three weeks.
Buratai gave the charge during the flag-off the 2 Battalion forward Operation Base (FOB) at the troubled Birnin-Gwari area of Kaduna state, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
He said commanders will be personally held responsible for unnecessary casualties, stressing that platoon and session commanders must pilot their troop effectively wherever they are deployed, whether stationary or on patrols.
Legit.ng visits kidnappers' den discovered in Lagos on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
