Bandits abduct customs officer in Zamfara, demand N10m

Suspected bandits have abducted the regional accountant of Nigerian Customs Service in charge of Kano & Jigawa States, Mr Mahassan Lawal.

Mr Lawal was kidnapped late on Friday night in his country home of Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The officer was whisked away by gunmen who came in their large numbers and made their way into the local government headquarters.

A younger brother to the victim, Umar Lawal, told Channels Television that the abductors have contacted the family and demanded N10 million as ransom. He said as of 12:00 pm on Saturday, they had negotiated for the release of the abductee at N3 million but the bandits insisted on N10 million as the last option.

The victim’s brother added that as of 1:00 pm, the gunmen switched off their phones and the negotiation was off since they could not be reached for further dialogue.

“They demanded N10 million and we tried to negotiate it to N3b million but the bandits insisted on the N10 million. So, after we told them N3 million, they switched off the phone. That was on Saturday.

“They called again yesterday and insisted on the same N10 million,” Umar explained.

Police authorities in the state are yet to comment on the incident as the state police spokesman, SP Muhammed Shehu, was unavailable to take calls when reached.

Tsafe local government in Zamfara State has been experiencing the resurgence of banditry recently which necessitated the state government to ban operations of motorcycles from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am as part of measures to address insecurity affecting the area.

The town is the hometown of the State Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mamman Tsafe, and is about 41 kilometers from the state capital, Gusau. Further details as regards the latest incident are expected in the coming hours. (Channels TV)