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From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
It was indeed a sad incident for the family of Ayuba Kadiri, an Edo-born electronic dealer whose three children were abducted by gunmen recently at his residence in Ajaokuta, Kogi State.
This incident occured a few days when three police officers and five vigilance members were killed by people suspected to be bandits at Jida Bassa in the same Ajaokuta local government
Governor Yahaya Bello, reacting to the incident, had ordered the immediate suspension of the traditional ruler and issued a query to the local government chairman and ordered the security agencies in the state to be alive with their responsibilities.
However, at about 8 pm on Wednesday night, gunmen numbering about 10 invaded the residence of Kadiri located at Kaduna Estate, Ajaokuta Steel township complex, and forcefully abducted his three innocent children who are aged between five, seven and 10.
It was learnt that the businessman who traded in devices like televisions, radios, refrigerators, lamps and other electronic gadgets, was the target of the hoodlums but he was said not to be at home at the time the hoodlums invaded his residence.
According to an eyewitness, the gunmen sporadically shot into the air to cause panic in the neighbourhood before kidnapping the three children.
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A family source who pleaded not to be identified said the gunmen on Thursday morning had contacted the family demanding for N100Million before they will release the abducted children.
Narrating how the incident happened, the source said ” the gunmen came in their numbers fully armed to the house of Mr Kadiri our brother that sells television, radio and other electronic devices in Ajaokuta here, we used to be very peaceful.
“They shot countless times to scare people from coming close. When they could not see their target victim,(Kadiri) they decided to pick up the three children from the house. As we speak, their whereabouts are still unknown.
“Here in Ajaokuta, we can no longer sleep with our two eyes close. There are lots of armed robbery and kidnapping incidents everywhere. Recently, we all saw how innocent policemen and vigilantes were killed. Things are already falling apart. Nowhere is safe again,” the family source added.
Neither the Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) in the state, William Ovye Aya, nor the
the Commissioner of Police, Edward Egbuka, has given an official statement on the matter as both have not responded to phone calls and text messages from journalists in the state.
