Gunmen Reportedly Kill Nasarawa Monarch’s Police Escort, Abduct Wife, Aide

Gunmen have reportedly attacked Nakera community in Nasarawa State’s Wamba Local Government Area on Sunday night, resulting in the alleged killing of a police officer assigned to the traditional ruler of the area.

Arewa PUNCH investigations reveal that during the attack on the palace of the Chu Buh, Mondeh Chagga, which occured between 10:30 to 11:00 pm, the gunmen also abducted his wife, Patience Tari and one of his aides, Kefas Shehu, to a yet to be identified location.

A resident of the community, who simply identified himself as Deyen Oriku, told our correspondent that the gunmen who stormed the palace of the monarch in their large number, shot sporadically into the air while carrying out their nefarious activities.

Oriku lamented that security threats in the community had heightened in the past six months despite several pleas for the deployment of more security personnel to the area.

“The level of insecurity in the entire Wamba LGA is becoming unbearable. Kidnapping for ransom has now become the order of the day,” he stated.

Explaining further, he narrated, “On Sunday when the gunmen attacked the community, they came in their numbers and they were shooting in several directions, but because it was late at night, many of us (residents) remained inside our houses. It was later that night that we heard about the death of the policeman and the kidnap of two people from the monarch’s house.

“We heard that the monarch was able to escape during the attack with the help of some of the villagers. Also, we were told that the kidnappers went away with the killed policeman’s rifle.

“It was after the attack that the military arrived in the community to render security assistance to us. By then, the armed men had already gone very far with their victims because it was close to one hour after the operation before they (military) came.’’

“I am appealing to the Nasarawa State Government to urgently look into the matter of insecurity in communities across Wamba LGA with a view to proffering a lasting solution to the steady attacks by bandits,” Oriku pointed out.

Meanwhile, Arewa PUNCH, on Monday, gathered that the kidnappers have reached out to the family, demanding a N20 million ransom for their release.

A family source disclosed, “The kidnappers are now demanding a whopping sum of N20 million before they would be released from captivity.

“The community has been thrown into confusion since they were kidnapped because most people here are farmers. Now that they (kidnappers) are requesting that huge amount of money, I really don’t know what we will do about the matter.

“At this moment, we need the help of the state government and other good-spirited Nigerians to come to our aide because we do not have the resources to pay for their release,” the family source further told Arewa PUNCH.

Our correspondent recalls that gunmen had invaded the community in February, during which period  a youth leader of the community and two other residents were kidnapped for ransom.

Confirming the incident to Arewa PUNCH in Lafia on Monday, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Ramhan Nansel, commiserated with the people of the area over the unfortunate incident.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Umar Nadada, had directed a thorough investigation into the matter with a view to rescuing the kidnapped victims unhurt and to ensure that normalcy returns to the community.

“The incident happened last night (Sunday), and the command has launched an investigation into the case. Efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the dastardly act,” Nansel added.