HOUSE OF REPS MEMBER KIDNAPPED

Garba Durbunde, Honourable member representing Takai/Sumaila Federal Constituency from Kano State at the National Assembly Abuja, has been reportedly kidnapped.

The House of Representatives member was reportedly kidnapped by unknown gunmen, NAIJ NEWS ALERT sources said, along the now notorious Jere – Abuja Road in Kaduna State on his way from Kano to Abuja on Tuesday at about 5:00pm.


The Kano State government in a statement, in a statement signed by the Honourable Commissioner for Information, Mallam Garba Mohammed, confirmed the incident, saying the lawmaker was abducted around 5:00pm on Tuesday.

According to the Information Commissioner, "His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje was shocked about the incident, especially at this period of Ramadan".

Mallam Garba Mohammed called on the police and other security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue the lawmaker.

Kaduna state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Aliyu Usman, when contacted on telephone for further clarifications disclosed that the Command was on top of the situation and would get back to thus reporter when there is report to make.

However, sources disclosed that the contacts have been established with the Kidnappers.

Stakeholders in the state continued to express their displeasure with both the state and federal government for relaxing the security surveillance on the Kaduna-Abuja road immediately the rehabilitation wok on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

It would be recalled that following plans to rehabilitate the Abuja Airport, the operations at the airport were relocated to Kaduna with security patrols and surveillance increased on the road.

However, with the completion of the rehabilitation of the runway in Abuja and subsequent relocation of all flight operations back to Abuja, all patrols and surveillance initially put in place that had checkmated the activities of armed banditry and kidnappers, were either relaxed, or removed resulting in the resurgence of criminal activities on the route.

Samaila Ibrahim, a regular commuter of the Kaduna-Abuja route, while speaking with NAIJ NEWS ALERT, decried the absence of adequate police and security presence on the route thereby exposing the lives of the citizens to the menace of criminal elements on the Jere axis of the road.

According to Ibrahim, "our leaders are not concerned about the plight and welfare of the common man and will only cater for their individual selves. See how security patrols were everywhere while the rehabilitation works were being carried out in Abuja".

"Now that flights have resumed in Abuja and there is no longer need for their safety, the patrols have vanished. This is most unfair", he said.