Featured, Security
THE Kaduna State Police Command has confirmed that it has found 29 passengers in God Bless Ezenwata Motors who were kidnapped by gunmen on January 14, along Kaduna – Zaria expressway.
Realnews reports that about 40 passengers were kidnapped in the incident which claimed the lives of six persons.
Yakubu Abubakar Sabo, police public relations officer, Kaduna Police Command, told Realnews on the phone today that 29 people including three Airtel Nigeria workers, who were kidnapped have been found.
“We made a statement confirming that six people were killed in sporadic shootings involving two commuter vehicles. There is no certainty as to how many people were kidnapped,” Sabo said in response to Realnews questions that about 40 persons were kidnapped from the God Bless Ezenwata Motors.
“Twenty of the victims are with me in the office going through debriefing before we reunite them with their families,” he said.
Realnews reports that there was an attempt to cover up the incident involving the bus ferrying passengers, mostly Igbos to the southeast from Sokoto, Northern Nigeria.
Following a report by Premium Times concerning the kidnap incident, the Kaduna State Police Command refuted the story.
The command issued a press release stating that “its attention has been drawn to a story that was published on The Premium Times Newspaper of today 19th January 2020, and is being circulated on Social Media captioned “Bandit Attack: Buhari sympathises with Emir but keeps mum on 30 People Killed, 100 Kidnapped” and referring to the kidnapping incident of 14/01/2020 along Kaduna- Zaria Road.”
The command stated categorically that, “it has high respect for the sanctity of human life and cannot underestimate such value. It therefore strongly debunks the story as false and a misrepresentation of facts aimed at causing more fear in the minds of the Public and enjoins the Public to jettison the report as misleading.”
According to the police, “It will be recalled that on the said 14th day of January 2020, when the sad incident occurred, the Command has made a statement confirming the death of six victims while five others who sustained varying degrees of injuries have been taken to hospital for treatment. As an update, one of the five persons receiving treatment has later died in the hospital which made the toll to seven while four persons are being treated. Out of the number of the deceased victims, the following have been identified as; (1) Shehu Wakama 62yrs (2) Sulaiman Ba’amalum 60yrs (3) Maina Kaina 60yrs (4) Adamu Lawal 32 (5) Danjuma Adamu 35yrs (6) Adamu Musa and one other whose name and address is not yet identified. While the injured persons in the incident are; (1) Sgt Mohammed Tanko (2) Philiha David (3) Ismail Yau and (4) Umar Maiwada respectively.
“On the number of persons abducted, the investigation is still ongoing to ascertain the exact figure. However, only six (6) families have so far contacted the Command to report the involvement of their relations. Thus, while regretting the unfortunate incident, the Command still maintains this casualty figure as accurate until more facts prove to the contrary. The story being circulated by The Premium Times is a gross exaggeration of facts and misleading.
“Consequently, the Command wishes to warn members of the Public who share messages related to security from unverifiable sources to desist, as the Command would not hesitate to deal decisively with any person or group of persons who engage themselves in such malicious publication/circulation.
“The press should continue to uphold the high ethical standards of their profession. All accounts of crime incidents should be verified before publication to avoid being involved in sharing mischief. Internet subscribers should also be cautious in sharing stories of questionable sources especially via social media.
“In conclusion, the command wishes to reaffirm its unrelenting commitment towards fighting crime and criminality to the barest minimum and calls for General Public cooperation to achieve this noble mission,” the police command said.
– Jan. 23, 2020 @ 18:41 GMT |
Tags: 26 others in Ezenwata bus kidnap rescued Breaking: 3 Airtel staff
