Lafia – Gunmen on Sunday in Nasarawa State shot dead a former Commissioner of the National Population Commission (NPC) , Mr Zakari Umaru-Kigbu, and abducted his two daughters.
Umaru-Kigbu, aged 60, was also a retired Air Force officer.
He was said to have been killed in the early hours of Sunday at his residence in Azuba Bashayi, Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
It was gathered that the kidnappers had also demanded N50 million ransom for the release of the victims.
A family member also confirmed the killing to Daily Trust on Sunday morning in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
He said, “Mr Umaru-Kigbu was killed by gunmen last night in his residence at Azuba Bashayi, Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State and two of his daughters were also kidnapped.”
It was learnt that untill his murder, he was a lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, lsa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia (IMAP), and former NPC federal commissioner in charge of Nasarawa State.
Umaru-Kigbu was the agent of a governorship aspiriant, Mr Labaran Maku, who contested on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but later stepped down.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ramhan Nansel, said the command got a distress call at 12.20am on Sunday.
“We responded to the distressed call and immediately deployed our partrol teams of the command and the military also drafted its men to the scene of the incident to support the Nigeria Police Force so as to rescue the two daughters of the diseased unhurt,” Nansel explained.
According to him, investigation
is ongoing to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Nansel also confirmed that two of Umaru-Kigbu’s daughters were Kidnapped by the gunmen.
He said Umaru-Kigbu was rushed to Dalhatu Raf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia, where he gave up the ghost.
“The command has launched a manhunt for the perpetrators,”
he added.
However, the police spokesman, said he was not aware of the N50 million ransom being demanded by the kidnappers. (Daily Trust/vitalnews)
