An aide to the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, Kabiru Onyene, has been reportedly abducted.
Reports obtained by Henzodaily on Tuesday morning revealed that Onyene was whisked away around 7:05 PM on Monday when a group of armed men suspected to be kidnappers invaded his office in Okene.
It was gathered that the assailants stormed the premises firing indiscriminately and forcibly transporting Onyene to an undisclosed location.
At the time of the incident, Onyene was reportedly relaxing in his well-known restaurant, “Nahaziyat,” situated a short distance from the palace of the late Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, HRM Ado Ibrahim, when the assailants struck.
Also, an unidentified individual is said to have been shot during the incident, leaving their condition uncertain.
“Suddenly, around 7.05 pm on Monday, we started hearing a staccato of sound, which many of us took it as a knock-out sound from fun seekers heralding the yuletide period.
“But when we saw several people running in different directions to avoid being caught up in stray bullets, it became clearer that it was a sound of gun shots, not knock out, as we thought initially.
“A few minutes after, news started making the rounds that the gunmen invaded Kabiru’s office; and they left with him.
“It baffled most of us that his abductors took him away because the place of the incident is just about 200 metres from where the soldiers mounted their roadblock around the ex-governor’s house.
“A yet-to-be-identified person was said to have been shot in the process, but I cannot ascertain the condition of the victim yet, whether he is alive or dead,” Daily Trust quoted an eye witness, Ozovehe, as saying.
The reported abduction has become a subject of discourse in Okene town, as there’s confusion over the motive behind his abduction.
“My dear brother, Hon Kabiru Onyene, has been abducted from his office this evening. We urgently seek your prayers for his safe return.
“May Allah SWT protect him from harm, guide the authorities to locate him swiftly, and reunite him with his loved ones,” the media platform quoted a kinsman saying in a post via social media.
However, when contacted, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Williams Aya, said he was yet to be briefed about the incident.
He assured journalists that he would get back to them as soon as possible.