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From Molly Kilete, Abuja and Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
Gunmen have abducted the traditional ruler of Bukpe, a village in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Hassan Shamidozhi, from his palace.
The abductors, numbering over 100 were said to have stormed the community on Wednesday night, shooting sporadically and kidnapped the monarch who was seated outside his Palace after taking his bath because of the intense heat.
An eyewitness, who is also the brother of the abducted monarch, Jibrin Gimba, told Daily Sun that the whole incident happened like a movie scene as people scampered for safety.
He said he watched helplessly through his window as the gunmen took his brother away.
He said: “I left the palace a few minutes after the incident when my brother told me he wanted to go and take his bath because the heat was too much. After that, he decided to sit out for fresh air before going to bed when, all of a sudden, the men came from nowhere and opened fire. I watched the whole incident from my window,” he said.
For some time now, kidnappers, bandits and other criminal groups have taken over some villages in the FCT, and terrorised the villagers with their activities, with little or no resistance from the security agencies.
When contacted, the FCT police command Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she was yet to confirm the incident and promised to get back after confirmation.
At the time of filing this report, the gunmen were yet to make contact with the family of the kidnapped monarch.
Also, the President and Founder of Enemona Josh Humanitarian Foundation, Ambassador David Onoja has been abducted by yet to be identified gunmen in his house, at Wada Road, Lokoja.
A family source said Onoja was picked from his house around 10:30am, yesterday, by six gunmen who dressed in police uniform, armed with AK-47 and bullet proof vests.
The source added that the gunmen came to the residence of the philanthropist in a maroon coloured Sienna bus and manhandled him before they allegedly whisked him away to an unknown destination.
As at the time of filing this report, the police in Lokoja were yet to react to the abduction as the state Police Public Relations Officer, Willy Aya, did not respond to calls made to his cell phone.
