Dr. Muhammad Egye Osolafia, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule’s Senior Special Assistant on Humanitarian Services, has been kidnapped by gunmen suspected of being kidnappers.
He was preparing to enter his home when the attackers, who had come shooting intermittently into the air, swept him away on Saturday night at Tudun Amba in Lafia.
Speaking to reporters in Lafia on Sunday, Mr. Peter Ahemba, the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Affairs, acknowledged the development and called it “sad and unfortunate.”
Despite a number of recent police operations and suspect arrests, kidnapping has increased in Lafia and other regions of the state.
Top government officials were recently warned by Governor Sule not to use their power to have suspected kidnappers in security custody released.
The influx of displaced people from bandit-ravaged states into Nasarawa and the ongoing military offensive in neighboring Benue State, which has driven some criminal groups to migrate into Nasarawa, are cited by security experts as the reasons for the increasing wave of abductions.
Residents in a number of areas have reportedly stopped activities and gone inside as early as 8:00 p.m. out of fear of kidnapping, and the increased insecurity has caused difficulties for many companies.
