Taraba lawmaker kidnapped

Gunmen have abducted the lawmaker representing Nguroje constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly, Bashir Bape.

Mr Bape was kidnapped Tuesday night in his residence in Jalingo, the state capital.

“The gunmen who came in numbers overpowered the vigilantes guarding the house and went straight to his sleeping room.

‘’They whisked him away, and on leaving the scene, they shot into the air to scare us,” a member of the household told PREMIUM TIMES

Witnesses said the gunmen rode to the area in a convoy of motorcycles at about 1:00 a.m.

“Immediately they entered, they seized all handsets belonging to the people in the compound.

“They then dragged the member to their motorcycles and whisked him away without saying anything,” said a neighbour who declined to give his name for security reasons.

The state police spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on the incident as calls to his phone did not go through.

It was the second time a member of the state House of Assembly was kidnapped in recent years.

Hosea Ibi, the lawmaker representing Takum 1 constituency, was kidnapped on December 30, 2017 in Takum.

He was snatched at gunpoint and driven away by his abductors on a motorcycle.

After weeks of search and payment of ransom, his corpse was found along the Takum – Kashimbilla road.