Gunmen abduct council chairperson, shoot vigilante commander

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Gunmen have abducted the Chairperson of Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, South-south Nigeria.

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Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the victim, Bright Abeke, was abducted from his hotel at about 7 p.m. on Friday.

The hoodlums were said to have arrived the hotel in a Range Rover SUV, shooting sporadically to disperse onlookers.

Fearing possible counterattack, the gunmen shot a vigilante commander in the area, Ufuoma Asagba, who was present during the attack.

Mr Asagba is said to be the chief security officer to the abducted chairperson.

A witness, who asked not to be named, said the assailants subsequently abducted the chairperson after shooting the vigilante commander.

“The commander is now receiving treatment at a private hospital here,” he said.

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When contacted on Saturday, the police spokesperson in Delta State, Bright Edafe, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES.

“It is confirmed. It happened,” Mr Edafe, a superintendent of police, said, without giving details.

A top police officer in Delta State later told this newspaper that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Yemi Oyeniyi, visited the scene of attack on Saturday.

“The CP (commissioner of police) went there today (Saturday) with heads of tactical units in the Command,” said the officer, who asked not to be named because he was not permitted to speak on the matter.

He added that, upon receipt of information about the attack, security was beefed up in the area with entry and exit points closed down to track down the attackers.

Abduction for ransom

Attacks by gunmen seeking to abduct victims for ransom have been frequent in recent times across Nigeria.

Civil servants, business owners, politicians and even students have become targets of such attacks in the country lately.

Meanwhile, abduction or kidnapping has been illegal in Nigeria since May 2022.

The country’s authorities enacted the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (2022) which outlawed all forms of kidnapping.

The Act prescribes death sentence for kidnapping in a case where the abduction leads to loss of life and life imprisonment where there is no loss of life.

It was an amendment to the now defunct Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (2013) which had prescribed a 10-years jail term for kidnapping.

The new Act also prescribes at least a 15-year jail term for whoever pays ransom to free kidnap victims.

Several persons have been convicted for kidnapping across Nigeria.

An Ikeja Special Offences Court, in September 2022, sentenced kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans, to 21 years imprisonment for kidnapping.