Olaide Oyelude
Abductors of the mother of a major fuel marketer in Katsina State have demanded N100m ransom.
The 82-year-old woman, Hajiya Diya, was reportedly abducted early on Friday in her Bayan community in Dutsin-ma, near Katsina.
The spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, confirmed the kidnap but offered no details.
“It is true the woman was abducted on Friday and our men are doing all they can to rescue her,” he told our correspondent on the telephone.
Sources at Dutsin-ma, on Saturday, said the abductors had allegedly demanded N100m to release her.
The abductors’ demand was said to have been made via telephone to the family on Saturday, although no family member, including her son, Nagogo Nagarhi, who is the owner of SHEMA fuel stations, offered any public statement on the incident.
According to sources, five gunmen stormed Diya’s residence around 1.30am and beat up her neighbours, before whisking her away on a motorcycle.
Her husband, Alhaji Abdullahi, who was reportedly injured during the attack, was said to be receiving medical attention at an undisclosed hospital in Dutsin-ma.
A neighbour, identified as Usman Barkiya, who was said to have been shot twice while attempting to rescue Diya, was reportedly receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
A source told our correspondent that the motorcycle used to abduct the old woman broke down in front of Barkiya’s house. When he accosted the abductors, he was shot in the hand and stomach.
It was further learnt that the abductors transferred Diya to a sachet water delivery van, believed to also have been stolen.
When our correspondent visited the Dutsin-ma Divisional Police Station on Saturday for information on police efforts to rescue Diya, he was referred to the state police spokesman as the Divisional Police Officer and his second-in-command were said to be unavailable.
The police spokesman said he would get back to our correspondent if there was any development concerning the kidnap. He had yet to do so as of press time.
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Source: Punch
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