A former deputy governor of Nasarawa State, Professor Onje Gye-Wado, has been kidnapped.
Prof. Gye-Wado was deputy to the incumbent national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, when the latter was governor of the State between 1999 to 2003.
A family source said the former deputy governor was abducted Thursday night from his village in Rinza, near Wamba, the headquarters of Wamba local government area of the State.
The source said the former deputy governor was seized in his house at about midnight.
The assailants were said to have scaled the fence and gained access to the house by breaking the window to Gye-Wado’s wife’s room.
The source said the incident was the fourth attempt to abduct the deputy former governor
“The third one they killed one of his cousins and this time around they succeeded,” the source stated.
He added that the abductors reached out to a family member in the early hours of the Friday but did not give any condition for his release.
“The wife came in for Easter and they broke into the house through her widow and took him away. They called around 4am today (Friday) and threatened to kill him, without mentioning any amount,” the source further explained.
Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of the former deputy governor.
In a statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Ramhan Nansel, on Friday morning, the Commissioner of Police in the State, Maiyaki Baba, assured of the safe return of Prof. Gye-Wado
The statement said a Police Tactical Team has been drafted to the area and was intensifying search for the victim.
“Information received by the Command indicated that on 7/4/2023 at about 12:30am, unknown gunmen invaded Gwagi village in Wamba LGA, broke into the residence of one Prof. Onje Gye-Wado and abducted him to an unknown destination.
“Upon receipt of the information, Police operatives attached to Wamba Division swiftly moved to the scene, but the hoodlums had fled with the victim before their arrival.
“The Commissioner of Police further mobilised and deployed reinforcement comprising Police tactical teams, military, vigilante, and local hunters to complement the ongoing search to rescue the hostage hale and hearty and arrest the perpetrators of the act.
“The Commissioner of Police therefore call on anyone with useful information that will enable the Police to succeed in the rescue operation to call the following telephone numbers: 09115629178, 09067877096, 08112692680 and 08104441179,” the PPRO stated.
