Police confirm kidnap of farmer in Gombe

THE police command in Gombe State has confirmed the kidnap of a 59-year-old male farmer, Shugaba Graba, in Tudu-Koya, Billiri Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Mohammed Mukaddas, Commissioner of Police confirmed the incident to newsmen in Gombe on Tuesday.

Mukaddas said the command was on top of the situation and that he had personally visited the scene on Monday.

He said that they were not able to arrest the suspects yet, but they had taken measures that would lead to their arrest.

“Presently we have deployed our men fully armed with patrol vehicles and horses to enable them to trace the suspects,’’ he said.

He said that the command was monitoring everything and the victim would soon be freed while the suspects would be arrested.

“So far we have been able to know the area where these suspects have gone to if we are to chase them we may jeopardise the life of the victim,’’ he said.

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He called on the public to cooperate with police at all the times and to provide useful information on ensuring peace and security in the State.

Alhaji Abubakar Bappa, former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who is a friend of the victim said that kidnappers had earlier attempted to kidnap him but failed.

He said that the kidnappers were presently demanding N30 million as a ransom for the release of the victim.

Bappa also revealed that they personally insisted on negotiating with him, using the cell phone of the victim.