Gunmen Abduct Katsina Monarch, Bizman

Gunmen suspected to be cattle rustlers, yesterday, abducted a ward head and a businessman at Zandam village in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina state. The attack on the village which shares borders with Rugu forest on the axis of Jibia and Batsari Local Government Areas of the state resulted in the kidnap of Mallam Babangida Lawal, otherwise known as Maiunguwar Zandam, and a businessman, Murtala Rabe, by the suspected bandits. Reacting, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Isah Gambo, maintained that no traditional ruler was kidnapped in the village, saying “the issue is this: People are exaggerating the incident; if you call the victim a traditional ruler, people will think he is such a big figure. He is a maiunguwar.” The police spokesman however confirmed that special patrol officers of the police command had been deployed to rescue the two abducted persons and hunt down the bandits. Gambo revealed that the police had a lead into the incident even as he maintained that the police were unaware of any ransom demand for the duo. The premier also gathered that the suspected hoodlums, who left several persons that came to the rescue of the kidnapped men with various degrees of injuries, escaped several domestic animals of the villagers after breaking into some homes