Tension as gunmen kidnap traditional ruler in Nasarawa

Suspected terrorists have abducted an unknown number of traders travelling on the Kaduna–Birnin Gwari highway, raising renewed concerns over the growing insecurity in the region.

In a separate incident, the traditional ruler of the Dari community in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Emmanuel Omanji, was kidnapped late Wednesday night from his residence.

The attackers reportedly stormed the community and fired several gunshots into the air before forcibly taking the monarch away.

The Public Relations Officer of the Nasarawa State Police Command, Ramhan Nansel, confirmed the incident in a statement made to News360 Nigeria.

According to Nansel, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Shetima Jauro Mohammed, has already activated a coordinated search-and-rescue operation involving the police kidnapping unit, military personnel, and local vigilante groups.

According to him, the commissioner seeks useful information that will assist the operation to cooperate with the Nigeria Police Force.

Meanwhile, police authorities in the state have launched an investigation into the death of five children who were found lifeless in an “abandoned” and “unserviceable” vehicle in the Obi Local Government Area of the state.

Nansel explained that they received a report about the discovery of the lifeless bodies of the children from a resident in the Agyaragu community where the incident occurred.

It disclosed that the children, aged between six and 10, were found “unresponsive” in the vehicle parked in the compound of a resident.

The police also stated that the children were promptly evacuated to Aro Hospital, Agyaragu, where a medical doctor confirmed all five children dead due to suspected suffocation.

According to the statement, the remains were released to their parents based on a request for burial, due to severe heat burns on the bodies of the deceased.

The police, however, said the Commissioner of Police had ordered a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“This heartbreaking incident is a painful reminder of a similar tragedy that occurred in August 2019, when two children lost their lives in an abandoned vehicle in Keffi.