Nigerian police confirm abduction of government official

By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA) - Police in Nigeria on Tuesday confirmed the abduction of the commissioner for information, culture and tourism of the country’s central Nasarawa state.

In a statement, Ramhan Nansel, the police spokesman, said that Lawal was abducted by gunmen on Monday evening.

“On Monday … the attention of policemen on routine patrol was drawn to the sound of sporadic gunshots in the Nassarawa-Eggon Local Government Area of the state and the operatives attached to the Nassarawa-Eggon Division immediately raced to the scene,” Nansel said.

“Upon arrival at the scene, it was discovered that unknown gunmen while shooting sporadically, invaded the residence of the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and forcefully abducted him to an unknown destination,” he said.

A search and rescue operation is ongoing to rescue the victim and arrest the perpetrators of the crime, the police spokesman added.

On Thursday, Usman Alkali Baba, the country’s police chief, ordered the review of police personnel and operational assets deployments to schools and colleges around the country, to ensure the protection of schools and colleges, particularly boarding schools, tertiary institutions, and its campuses in areas prone to security breaches.