POLITICAL KIDNAPPING: 10-year-old son of Nigerian PDP politician abducted by gunmen; draws major concern.
Special to USAfricaonline.com
Gunmen have abducted the 10-year-old son of a Nigerian politician planning to run for a seat in upcoming National Assembly elections, a government spokesman has said.
The kidnapping occurred in the northern Nigerian city of Bauchi, an area that has been spared from the spate of kidnappings that have occurred in the oil-producing south, the spokesman said.
“The gunmen abducted Mahmud Dahiru Sunday evening and since then his kidnappers have not been found,” Mohammed Inua Bello, director of information in Bauchi State, told AFP.
“They are asking for a ransom but nothing has been paid to them yet.”
He did not say how much the kidnappers were demanding.
The boy, who was abducted from his home, is the son of Garba Dahiru, a former state finance commissioner planning to contest next year’s elections under the ruling Peoples Democratic Party banner, Bello said.
Security has been tightened in the state as police intensify efforts to find the kidnappers, he said.
Elections are expected as early as January, and rights groups have expressed fears of increased violence ahead of the vote. ref: AFP
