Kidnappers stormed a shop at Plywood area of Epe, Lagos, Sunday night, abducting a trader identified as Hajia Aminat Folorunsho–Balogun.
Meanwhile, the abductors, yesterday, contacted her family, demanding N10 million ransom for her release.
Vanguard gathered that the kidnappers, who pretended to be customers, walked into her shop at about 10.07pm, requesting to buy water. Her husband was said to be in the shop with her.
While the transaction was ongoing, one of the strangers, put off the power generating set, thereby throwing the entire shop into darkness. They collected the couple’s phones and beat them up.
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Thereafter, they locked her husband inside the shop, smuggled her into their vehicle and drove away.
A relative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the kidnappers contacted the victim’s husband in the early hours of Monday, demanding N50 million ransom for her release.
The relative said: “After much bargain, they told him they would not go below N10 million. The family pleaded for N2 million but they declined. We have been going from place to place to appeal for funds.
“We are appealing to the Lagos State government and well-meaning Nigerians to assist us,“ the relative stated.
On its part, the Lagos State Police Command said investigation into the abduction of the trader had begun.
Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hudenyin, said: “The case was reported and we are making substantial movements. We don’t want to say much but we are making progress.”
Five children trapped inside abandoned car in Minna die
Five children have reportedly died of suffocation in an abandoned vehicle in the Albishiri area of Minna, Niger State.
The children were said to have gone missing on Sunday morning before they were found dead at 6pm on the same day.
One of the children was said to be a child of the owner of the car while another one was the child of a neighbour.
The remaining three were siblings, belonging to one Abdullahi Etsu of Etsu-tasha, from the Albishiri area.
Spokesman for the police command in Niger, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday.
He said the children were between the ages of five and 13.
Abiodun said the children were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle in the area.
He stated, “On 21/4/2024 at about 6.30pm, based on information received at Kpakungu Div, five children of about 5-13 years of age were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle with Reg No. GO 778 ABC at Albishiri area of Minna,” the statement reads.
“They were found to have suffocated in the vehicle, while their bodies were later removed by the various Parents, as Police visited the scene.
“However, the owner of the vehicle was invited for questioning, as the unfortunate incident is under investigation.”
FG summons Abuja Chinese supermarket owner to tribunal over discrimination
Director of Surveillance and Investigation at the FCCPC, Boladale Adeyinka, disclosed this on Monday after sealing off the outlet.
She affirmed that the owner of the supermarket, Cindy Liu Bei, had fled before the arrival of the agency’s officials.
The FCCPC officials stormed the supermarket on Monday, April 22, 2024, barely 24 hours after the discriminatory practices of the outlet were reported on social media by Nigerians.
Four vandalised towers disrupt power supply to Gombe, Yola, Jalingo
The TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, disclosed this on Monday in a statement shared on the company’s official X handle, along with pictures of the vandalised towers.
According to the statement, the TCN noted that when the 330kV transmission line tripped, its operators attempted to restore it to service but it tripped again, prompting the dispatch of TCN lines men to trace the line to detect and rectify the fault.
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It said, “While fault tracing, TCN’s engineering crew discovered that towers 288, 289, 290, and 291 were vandalised and that some tower members were carted away. Also, the towers had equally collapsed as a result of the incident. Presently, bulk power supply to Gombe, Yola, and Jalingo substations have been disrupted, affecting bulk power supply to parts of Yola and Jos Electricity Distribution Companies’ franchise areas.’’
The TCN however stated that it was trying to first backfeed Gombe through its 132kV transmission line from Bauchi and subsequently Ashaka, Potiskum, Damaturu, and Billiri/Savannah, to mitigate the effect of the incident on electricity consumers affected by the incident.
The company assured that it would do everything to ensure restoration of electricity to the affected areas, while efforts were made to reconstruct the four vandalised towers.
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