DPO kidnapped as abductors reduce ransom from N10m to N500,000 for Kogi student

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Sarkin Pawa Division of Niger State Police Command, Superintendent of Police (SP) Amos Aliyu, has been kidnapped.

Aliyu was kidnapped on Sunday evening around 7:00p.m. at his residence in Turin Fulani of Bosso Local Government Area of the state. A source close to his family said prior to his abduction, the DPO was seen outside his compound discussing with someone believed to be his friend in a relaxed atmosphere.

Amos, who had served as Deputy Commandant, Police Training School Minna, Divisional Crime Officer Kuta Division in Shiroro Local Government of the state and in Taraba State Police Command prior to his recent transfer to Serki Pawa Division, is believed to have been kidnapped along with his orderly.

According to the source, “the DPO was seen in the evening on Sunday at about the time Muslims were going to say their prayers. At the time, he parked his Peugeot 406 car outside his compound and was exchanging pleasantries with his neighbours, while someone believed to be his friend sat beside him prior to his disappearance.”

A team of policemen was seen around the DPO’s house yesterday morning questioning people. However, efforts to speak with the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Austin Iwero Agbonlahor, and the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) proved abortive as they refused to speak on the incidence.

It was gathered that efforts are being made to locate the wife of the DPO, who had been unreachable since yesterday. She reportedly left home in her Toyota Highlander Sports Utility vehicle in search of her husband while her phone had been switched off.

Meanwhile, a student of the Kogi State Polytechnic Lokoja, Miss Adetutu Adebanjo, has also been kidnapped. Adebanjo, a Higher National Diploma II (HND) student in the Department of Office Technology Management, was kidnapped last Friday, along the Itakpe-Lokoja-Okene road while on her way to her hometown in Ogun State.

The victim, according to a source has just finished her first semester examination, and was returning home. Her kidnap is coming barely a week after that of three chieftains of the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA), Kogi State chapter, who were abducted along Idah road in the state.

The Director of Students’ Affairs, National Association of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS), Salihu Lukman, in a statement on Sunday night, said the kidnappers had earlier demanded N10 million for her release, which they later reduced to N500,000.

“Negotiations are still ongoing. Today makes it the fourth day now, and the poor mother of Adetutu who happens to be a widow can’t afford the ransom. We are pleading with the government and the general public to come to the aid of this poor child so that we can secure her release,” he said.