Gunmen have kidnapped Abdulgafar Alabelewe and Abdulraheem Aodu, journalists with The Nation and Blueprint newspapers, in Kaduna.
Around 10 p.m. on Saturday, the abduction took place in the Danhonu suburb of Kaduna’s Millennium City.
Alabelewe, chair of the Nigeria Union Journalists (NUJ) reporters’ chapel, was seized together with his wife and two children.
Aodu was likewise enamoured with his wife. Both journalists are neighbours.
Taofeeq Olayemi, a relative of the Blueprint journalist, verified the event on Sunday.
Olayemi claimed that the gunmen pushed their way in by bursting through doors and windows to abduct their victims.
He said:
“Initially, they picked Alhaji Abdulgafar, his wife, three of his children and a girl staying with him.”
“But the girl was later asked to return with one of the children, and they left.
“They entered Abdulgafar’s house through the fence, forced his bedroom open picked him, his wife and two of their children and left immediately.”
The NUJ’s Kaduna council condemned the abduction.
In a statement signed by Asmau Halilu and Gambo Santos, chairperson and secretary of the NUJ’s state council, respectively, the council urged security agencies to rescue the victims.
The council also urged governments at all levels to increase measures to ensure the protection of citizens’ lives and property at all times.
The statement reads:
“The ugly phenomenon of kidnapping in Kaduna and environs is now resurfacing and must be checked to avert the experiences of the recent past.”
Mansir Hassan, spokesperson for the Kaduna police command, has yet to comment on the event.
