Taraba Deputy Governor's Mother Abducted, One Killed

Taraba Deputy Governor's Mother Abducted, One Killed

Mother of Taraba State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Haruna Manu was last Monday night kidnapped by unknown gunmen at Mutum Biyu, Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State.

80-year old Hajia Beli Manu was kidnapped at her home at about 9.00p.m. by her gunmen who were armed with dangerous weapons in the presence of other family members.

According to a family member,  whose identity was yet to be verified, was shot dead by the kidnappers who were said to have shot sporadically into the air before escaping with their victim.

This is coming less than two weeks after Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, raised an alarm in the Senate over the influx of unknown persons into the state particularly Gassol, Bali, Ibi and Wukari council areas.

Bwacha, who represents Taraba South in the red chamber called on security agencies to take proactive measures over the incident but was however countered by his counterpart from the state, Senator Yusuf A. Yusuf who described Bwacha's alarm as baseless.

But corroborating Bwacha's claims, the State Police Commissioner, Mr. Shaba Alkali disclosed that the state police command has intercepted truck loads of people that migrated to the state from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states that has come under serious bombardment in recent times.

The CP however dispelled insinuations that the people could be members of the Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram saying they were discovered to be people running away from crisis after due and proper screenings were conducted on them.

Meanwhile, the deputy governor, who was yet to visit Mutum Biyu, his home town as at the time of filing the report is said to have received the news of the kidnap with sadness.

Fielding questions from a journalist in a telephone interview, his Director of Press, Mallam Lawal Sani Kona stated that his principal received the news with rude shock and sadness adding that he would soon be in the town.

He further revealed that the kidnappers have neither contacted the family nor call to demand for ransom just as he appealed to the abductors not to harm or injure the matriarch of the Manu family.