In the early hours of Tuesday, bandits kidnapped Mansur Kaura, a bank manager at TAJ Bank’s Zamfara State branch.
According to Musa Ibrahim, a resident of the region, Kaura was kidnapped when bandits broke into his home in the Rijiyar Gabas area of Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State, at about 1 a.m.
The development comes after an attack on Sunday in the Piko district of the Bwari Area council in the Federal Capital Territory, in which 13 people were kidnapped.
According to a source close to the community’s Madaki (head), Chief John Jatau, the criminals demanded N900 million to release the hostages.
Speaking about the abduction of the bank manager in Gusau, Ibrahim stated that the gunmen abducted him from his home and carried him away to an unknown location.
According to him, “The bandits, who carried sophisticated weapons, began to shoot sporadically in all directions immediately after they arrived at the manager’s residence.
“When they realized that the people of the area were hiding in their houses, they went straight to the bank manager’s residence, broke the door, and then whisked him away.”
Ibrahim claimed that the manager yelled for help as he was being driven away, but no one came to his aid.
“He was shouting for help but unfortunately, nobody could risk his life to come out and help him,” he said.
Yazid Abubakar, spokesperson for the state police command, could not be reached for comment at the time this report was written.
As neighbors were frightened about the attack, the FCT police headquarters vowed to look into the kidnapping of 13 persons in the Piko area.
According to a news report, the bandits’ activity lasted more than an hour without any encounter from security forces.
According to a local source, ten residents were taken.
While stating that the kidnappers had wanted a ransom of N900 million, he also provided the names of the kidnapped individuals from the neighborhood.
Those reportedly kidnapped are Nuhu Anyiwoyi, Emmanuel Nuhu, Danjuma Ali, Parisa Numa, Ezekiel Jatau, Shekwosa Ezekiel, Roseline Samuel, Salome Jacob, Abyelo Ezra, and Ezra Male.
“The incident occurred on Sunday night, at about 11 pm. The kidnappers raided the village for over one hour without any response from security operatives.
“Also, there was a problem. The challenge that the community faced during the attack was a lack of access to communication means.
“There was no telecommunication network in the village, so the bandits picked people from house to house. They kidnapped about 13 people, and later released three,” a source said.
When reached, Josephine Adeh, spokesperson for the FCT police headquarters, who pledged to investigate, said, “I don’t have details yet; I’m reaching out to the DPO in the area, but I haven’t heard back.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
