Gunmen abduct Kogi chairman of Miyetti Allah

There is tension in Lokoja, Kogi State, following the abduction of the state chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Wakili Damina.

Kogi Secretary of MACBAN, Mr Adamu Abubakar, told newsmen in Lokoja on Tuesday that Damina was abducted on April 30 by some armed men dressed in army camouflage.

He reported witnesses as saying that the abductors, numbering about eight, came in a white bus at about 12 noon to forcefully take away the chairman from his house at Chikara village in the Kogi Local Government Area.

Abubakar said that he was informed of the incident about an hour later by a younger brother of Damina who claimed he witnessed the incident.

The secretary said he immediately called the phone number of the missing Chairman but it rang out.

He said that Damina’s number was switched off when he repeated the call about an hour later.

“Since then, his lines have not been reachable and all efforts to know his whereabouts have proved abortive,” he said.

Abubakar said that he immediately notified the commissioner of police of the development, adding the state government was also informed through the Special Adviser to the governor on Security Matters, Mr Jerry Omodara.

The secretary said that he and some members of the association visited the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, Abuja, to know if Damina was in their custody but they said no.

He also said that a search party raised by MACBAN had visited other places, including abattoirs in and around Abuja but did not find any clue.

Commissioner of Police, Mr Ede Ayuba, said that the police are yet to locate the whereabouts of the chairman.

The commissioner said that immediately he was informed of the incident, he called Damina’s phone severally but there was no response.

Ayuba said efforts to get detailed information about the incident from the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area where the incident happened were unsuccessful as the matter was not officially reported to him.