Unknown gunmen suspected to be bandits fleeing from Kwara State have reportedly abducted the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC), Ahmed Mohammed, alongside a former chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Niworo, along the Ibbi–Bussa axis of the Mokwa–New Bussa road in Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State
Aside from kidnapping the officials, the bandits were said to have taken into hostage scores of passengers from different vehicles during the attack.
A witness who managed to escape the attack disclosed that the victims were marched at gunpoint into a nearby forest, leaving the vehicle abandoned by the roadside.
Confirming the development on Tuesday, the state police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, explained that officers had earlier engaged the gunmen in a shootout while attempting to repel the attack.
“Our tactical team confronted the hoodlums and successfully disrupted their initial assault. Unfortunately, they regrouped, blocked the road further ahead, and whisked away some travellers,” he said.
Abiodun added that one police officer sustained gunshot wounds during the gun battle and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
He stressed that reinforcements, including vigilante groups and other security agencies, had been deployed to track the kidnappers and rescue the hostages.
The police further assured that clearance operations in suspected hideouts would continue until those behind the abductions are apprehended.
