Taraba Assembly minority leader abducted

Barely three years after the gruesome murder of the member representing Takum 1 constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly, Hosea Ibi, by kidnappers, the Minority Leader, Bashir Mohammed, has also been abducted by unknown gunmen.

The representative of Ngoroge constituency was in the early hours of yesterday seized from his Jalingo home.

The Chairman, House Committee on Information and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is second legislator to be kidnapped in a space of three years.
The first, Ibi, was on December 31, 2017 whisked away from Takum.

A family source said Mohammed was abducted around 1:00a.m.

His uncle, who also confirmed the incident via a telephone chat from Ngoroge in Sardauna council area of the state, described the situation as “a rude shock to the entire family members.”

He called on the state government and security agents to swiftly rescue his nephew, adding that the abductors had not established contact.

Also confirming the development, the Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the state command, David Misal, said efforts were ongoing to rescue the captive.

He added: “We are trailing the kidnappers to ensure safe release of the victim. The command would not go to bed pending when the lawmaker regains his freedom.”

Though no official statement yet from the leadership of the House, but some lawmakers have described the action as a rude shock.

Reiterating their determination for Mohammed’s freedom, the parliamentarians, who craved anonymity, agreed that a lot needed to be done to contain hoodlums in Taraba.

Despite the existence of an anti-kidnapping law in the state, The Guardian learnt that no single kidnapper had been prosecuted to show seriousness and serve as deterrence to prospective criminals.

The House of Assembly, last year, passed the bill to check criminality in the North East state.