Contrary to the news making the rounds that 13 persons were kidnapped along the Kaduna-Abuja road, the Command Headquarters of the Nigeria Police, Kaduna has cleared the air over the incident.
The police disclosed that gunmen dressed in military uniforms stormed a village in Chikun, a Kaduna metropolitan local government area and whisked away six persons from their homes.
In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command which was made available on Tuesday, the Command clarified that; “The Command wishes to put the record straight that, on 23/09/2019 at about 0130hrs, some Armed Men in Military Uniform forcefully entered some houses at the outskirt of Dutse Village in Chikun L.G.A of Kaduna State and in the process, abducted six people and took them to an unknown destination.
According to the statement, “One of the victims named Umar Abbas, a 32-year-old later managed to escape from his captors and reported the incident to the Command today”.
Explaining further, the statement said on receipt of that information, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ali Aji Janga immediately mobilized operatives of the Command’s Anti- Kidnapping and SARS units to the area for possible rescue of the remaining victims and arrest of the perpetrators.
The statement cautioned that the incident should not be misrepresented by inaccurate reporting as such would increase fear among road users.
Debunking the report of 13 persons abducted on Kaduna-Abuja road, the Command stated that the incident neither involved travellers along Abuja road nor recorded the figure falsely reported by such media”.
The statement, while calling on the residents to always give useful information to the police, assured them of the Command’s efforts to make the state safe and rid it of criminal activities.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan also made clarifications as he stated that there was no report of kidnapping of 13 commuters on Kaduna-Abuja Highway on Monday, September 23, as wrongly circulated on the social media.
Aruwan said, to set the record straight, there was no report of bandits blocking the Kaduna-Abuja Highway or kidnapping of any commuter on that road.
According to the commissioner, “From crime entries and reports from the District Head of Gwagwada, Alhaji Shittu Abdullahi, six (6) persons were kidnapped in the early hours of Monday 23rd September 2019, at Ungwan Hausawa-Dutse, Dutse village in Chikun LGA. The kidnapped persons are NOT commuters plying the Kaduna-Abuja Road and were not kidnapped on the road.
“The military and the police are working assiduously to locate and secure the release of the kidnapped persons”, he stated.
