How Zamfara Emir, Muhammadu Usman Was Kidnapped By Gunmen

by Musa Abdullahi & Daily Trust

Unknown gunmen last Friday night abducted the Emir of Bukkuyum, Alhaji Muhammadu Usman, at his palace in Bukkuyum town of Bukkuyum local government area of Zamfara state.

According to DailyTrust, Witnesses said the Emir was about to enter a mosque close to his palace to observe his Isha prayer when some unidentified gunmen arrived in a car. They forced him to enter the vehicle and fled.

The gunmen were reported to have fired shots into the air to scare away people. “They fired shot several into the air and then entered the mosque and seized mobile phones from worshippers before they had fled.”

A reliable source in the emirate said the Emir had spoken to his family on telephone and urged them to intensify prayers. But he could not tell them his location. The Emir was quoted as saying that he was well and safe at the hand of his captors.

It was not clear whether his abductors would demand for ransom. Also, there were no indications whether his abduction was connected with the activities of armed bandits that have been terrorizing the rural communities in the state in the past three years.

Meanwhile, the state Police command has said that it had mobilized and dispatched a special team to search for the kidnapped Emir in and outside the state.

The spokesman of the state police command, DSP Sanusi Amiru, said efforts were being intensified to rescue the Emir, adding that modalities were being worked out to send security agents to comb the nearby forests within and outside the state.

He said though there was no clue as to the Emir’s whereabouts, the state police command would not relent in its effort to ensure the Emir was rescued and the perpetrators of the heinous crime brought to justice.