Police rescue ∆bducted INEC official, recover NECO examination scripts in Zamfara
Police rescue abducted INEC official, recover NECO examination scripts in Zamfara
The Zamfara police command has rescued Aliyu Mohammed, a staff member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who was abducted by suspected bandits in Gummi LGA of the state.
According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, Mohammed was on an official assignment for the National Examinations Council (NECO) at the time of the incident on June 7.
The publication said Mohammed had transported examination scripts from various secondary schools in Gummi LGA to Sokoto before he was abducted along the Gummi–Sokoto road.
Makama reported that on July 7 at about 3:30pm, a large group of armed bandits, riding about 50 motorcycles, attacked communities around Ruwan Bore district in Talata Mafara LGA.
The publication said the bandits rustled hundreds of cattle, while a woman sustained a gunshot wound from a stray bullet during the attack.
It added that the bandits later moved to Gummi LGA, where they abducted Mohammed, noting that his official white Toyota Hilux vehicle with registration number FG 853-V01, was later found abandoned in the Tafkin area.
According to Makama, police operatives from the Gummi division, acting on a report of the incident, visited the scene, recovered the abandoned vehicle, and took it to the station for safekeeping.
Makama said the NECO examination scripts were also recovered and handed over to Ashiru Umar, principal of Government Unity Secondary School, Gummi, for onward delivery to the appropriate office in Sokoto.
It further noted that the Zamfara police command deployed its violent crime response unit (VCRU) to reinforce military personnel after intelligence revealed that armed bandits had gathered in the forest with reinforcements from Sokoto and Kebbi states.
The publication said the combined security team engaged the bandits in a gun battle at about 2:45am on July 8, forcing them to flee with heavy casualties.
During the operation, the abducted INEC official and another victim were rescued unhurt, while hundreds of rustled cattle were recovered and returned to their owners.
