Jimoh Ibrahim’s mother kidnapped •Senator escapes death, ADC killed •Gunmen kill FRSC staff, injure another in Owerri

 

THE mother of the billionaire business mogul and chairman of NICON Group, Jimoh Ibrahim, was, on Sunday night, kidnapped by unknown gunmen from her residence at Igbotako, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The 70-year-old woman, Mafe Jimoh, was forcibly taken away to an unknown destination by four heavily armed men.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the people came to the one-storey building in the town on the pretext that they wanted to buy locally made mats being sold by the woman.
It was further learnt that the woman was in one of the rooms upstairs when the people arrived at the house and demanded to see her.
The people were said to have pretended to be her long-standing customers, as they came in a vehicle to the building.
A security guard on duty in the house, Donatus Ekuma, who recounted the incident to newsmen said: “Four of them came in a vehicle. Two of them came down from the car and demanded to see Mama. They claimed to be her customers and that they wanted to buy some mats.
“I told them that Mama was resting upstairs but they insisted on seeing her personally and making their purchase and I obliged them.
“But it was a different story when the old woman came out to meet her ‘customers’ only to be held with force and dragged into their waiting vehicle. I immediately raised the alarm but the gunmen pointed their guns at me and other domestic staff on duty, ordering us to lie, face-down.”
He said the people thereafter escaped with the billionaire’s mother on top speed, having scared the people around with guns.
However, no contact had been made with the woman as at press time and the kidnappers were yet to contact any of the family members to demand for ransom.
The woman was said to have left her phone in her room before coming out to see the people, as she might not be able to recall any of her relatives’ number.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Aremu Adeniran, said the incident was reported at the Igbotako police station around 11.30 p.m, on Sunday.
He, however, said men of the command had commenced full investigation into the matter, to ensure that the woman was released unhurt.
Reacting, Mr Ibrahim, speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, said the kidnap had since been reported to the police and security agencies.
He lamented recent incidents in the area, including the burning of the house of the former Olugbo, killing of his wife and grandchildren, as well as the kidnap of other notable Nigerians in the state.
Meanwhile, Gunmen suspected to be hired assassins, late on Sunday, attacked the convoy of the senator representing Edo South senatorial district, Ehigie Uzamere, killing his aide-de-camp (ADC) and injuring his driver.
Uzamere, who is also the Edo South senatorial candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the April elections and his convoy were attacked at Zabayo Street, off Stadium Road in Benin City, at about 8.00 p.m.
Senator Uzamere escaped unhurt, while his driver was reported to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
However, policemen in the convoy of Senator Uzamere were said to have responded to the gunfire of the assailants, killing one of them. Two other suspects were arrested by the operatives of the state’s Joint Military Task Force.
In a related development, a road marshal, Mr Francis Iwuji, attached to the Njaba unit command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Owerri, Imo State, has been shot and killed by unknown gunmen, while another has been hospitalised with serious injuries.
Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of FRSC, Mr Osita Chidoka, condemned the killing of the officer while discharging his duties, while also commiserating with his family.
Details of the incident, as released in Abuja, on Monday, by the FRSC headquarters, indicated that the patrol team noticed suspicious movements in a nearby bush, but as they moved towards the bush, they were felled by gunshots.
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