Gunmen kidnap Commissioner for Information in Niger State

Gunmen abducted the Niger State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mohammed Idris, on Sunday, August 8, 2021.

He was kidnapped at Baban Tunga village in Tarfa Local Government Area of the state.

Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Matane, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that the gunmen arrived the community in about fifteen motorbikes.

Armed with sophisticated weapons, they kidnapped the commissioner at about 11 p.m. in the pouring rain.

Police Public Relations Officer in Niger, Wasiu Abiodun, has promised to provide more details.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of the state, Mary Noel-Berje, also confirmed the development in a statement on Monday.

“The commissioner was said to have been kidnaped by bandits at about one o’clock in the early hours of today from his home at Baban Tunga village in Tafa Local Government of the State.

“Security agencies are however already trailing the bandits with a view to apprehending them,” Noel-Berje said.

There has been an escalation in the spate of kidnappings for ransom in Nigeria's northern region in recent times. Most of those abducted have been school children.