January 02, (THEWILL) – The former chairman of Shendam Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nkemi Nicholas Nshe, has been abducted by gunmen.
Nshe, a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 election in Plateau State, was reportedly kidnapped alongside the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at the Plateau state University, Dr Monday Hassan.
They were abducted at the residence of Nshe at Shendam in the early hours of Saturday.
The development came barely 24 hours after kidnappers released a traditional ruler in the neighbouring central zone of the state, Charles Mato Dakat.
Dakat was abducted by gunmen at his palace in Gindiri community, Mangu LGA last Sunday.
An associate of Nshe in Shendam, who confirmed the latest incident, lamented the abduction of the former council boss.
He said, “Please join us in praying for the release of Dr Nkemi Nshe who was forcefully kidnapped from his Shendam residence in the early hours of Saturday being the New Year day, January 1, 2022. It was in the night that the gunmen came to his house and whisked him away. They did not go with his phone.
“The incident is rather unfortunate. We don’t know where they have taken him to. But yesterday evening (Saturday), I learnt that the kidnappers called the family members through the phone number of the son and demanded N100 million ransom which they later reduced to N50 million.
“Where will they get that kind of money when people are just suffering everywhere? It baffles me why the Federal Government through the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy would make Nigerians go through hard experiences by subjecting them to SIM card registration and yet, this kind of thing would be happening without the perpetrators being apprehended. What is the relevance of that registration exercise? Where are we going in this country in this kind of situation? We pray that the former council chairman be released safely because he has done nothing to warrant his abduction.”
Another source from the ASUU Secretariat at the Plateau State University, who also confirmed the kidnap of the ASUU boss, added, “The ASUU chairman, Dr Monday Hassan is a friend to the former Council chairman. They were together in his (Nkemi Nshe) house in Shendam when the gunmen attacked them and took them away. The security situation in this country is really pathetic and unacceptable as no one is safe anymore. But for how long shall we continue in this manner without the government waking up to its responsibility and save the citizens?”
The Spokesman for the Plateau Police Command, Ubah Ogaba, when contacted said the Command had deployed security operatives to rescue the victims.
“The Command is aware of the abduction in Shendam. Tactical teams have since been deployed to rescue the victims and arrest the perpetrators”, he said.
