- * NUJ, SWAN Postpone Congress In Solidarity
Princess Simon (Bureau Chief, North-Central)
Abductors of the Niger state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris, have demanded N500 million as a ransom for his release, even as the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and its affiliates, indefinitely, postpones scheduled state congress.
Gunmen suspected to be armed militia/ bandits, numbering about ten, in the early hours of Sunday, invaded the home of the Commissioner at Baban-Tunga in Tafa Local Government Area and took him away.
The men armed with AK 47 and other dangerous weapons were said to have entered the Commissioner’s house on foot and demanded to see his wife, but unknown to him that he was actually their target.
On hearing that someone is asking to see his wife, the commissioner, according to the source, demanded to know who requested to see his wife and for what reason at that hour of the day and thereby gave himself out to the criminals.
Immediately, the armed men who divided themselves with those of them in guns hiding by the corner, asked that he (commissioner) step out and see who they were. But as soon as he complied, they ordered him to follow them and together, they disappeared into the darkness.
With the abduction of the Commissioner, the armed bandits whose activities have caused hundreds of deaths and properties worth millions of Naira destroyed, now has well over 238 persons from Niger state languishing in their den, including the 136 pupils of islamiyya school Kontagora.
The abductors were said to be celebrating after ascertaining that their latest catch is a ‘government person’ that will not only command immediate attention of the state government in paying the ransom but also a huge amount of money
The state government is yet to issue an official statement on the worsening security situation in the state apart from the statement confirming the Commissioners’ abduction from the office of the Secretary to State Government and that of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.
Already, an enlarged emergency security meeting said to have been presided over by the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammad Ketso at the Government which also has in attendance top security chiefs in the state, took place on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.
While the armed bandits’ den is celebrating ‘a big fish’, those in the government circle are sober, as the abduction of the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy is being felt in both Government House, Minna, and the Ministry of Information and Strategy.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Niger state Council, has postponed indefinitely, their inaugural Congress of the new executive scheduled for Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in solidarity. A similar meeting by SWAN in the state was also put on hold.
The Council Secretary, Comrade Usman Chiji, in a statement reminded members that the “Ministry of Information and Strategy is the supervising organ of all Media organizations in the state. Postponing the Congress became necessary as we share in the pains of the family, Nigerlites and the state government”.
While commending the security agencies and the government for efforts to end crime and all forms of criminalities, Chiji said, “The Council regrets inconveniences the postponement would cause members”.
Usman Chiji while appealing to journalists in Niger state to be prayerful for the quick release and return of the Commissioner, also prayed God to change the hearts of the armed bandits to free the Commissioner NNL.