Gunmen kidnapped the chairman of the Sapele Local Government Area in Delta State, Chief Bright Abeke, in an incident that triggered fear in the community.
According to reports, the incident occurred less than 24 hours after suspected militants reportedly expressed threats of violence in the neighborhood, prompting concerns about increasing insecurity.
According to eyewitnesses, the council chairman was kidnapped at around 7 p.m. on Friday from a hotel on Owumi Road in Sapele, as the perpetrators fired bullets.
The gunmen, estimated to be 15 in number, reportedly assaulted the premises in a Range Rover SUV and two other vehicles, shooting sporadically to scatter residents and visitors.
They were said to have gone straight for their target before forcefully whisking him to an unknown destination.
A member of a local vigilante group, simply identified as Ufuoma, was reportedly shot during the attack and rushed to a hospital.
His condition could not be confirmed at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, security personnel have sealed off main entry and exit points in Sapele as efforts to rescue the abducted chairman continue.
SP Bright Edafe, the police public relations officer for Delta State Command, verified the event to our correspondent and stated that the command has begun actions to secure the victim’s release.
“Confirmed. The CP has ordered that the command’s special anti-kidnapping unit deploy their arsenals to ensure that he is rescued unhurt and the suspects arrested,” he said.
