[ad_1]
Armed men dressed in "security uniforms" kidnapped Zamfara's state finance minister in northwestern Nigeria, and arrested two of his aides and killed his deputy, announced Tuesday a spokesman for the region.
Hamza Salihu, state budget director, was kidnapped Sunday with two collaborators on a highway from the neighboring state of Kaduna, an area plagued by violence between farmers and ranchers.
The victims were on an official trip when they were caught in a "terrible and disturbing" attack by a gang of kidnappers, said Zamfara government spokesman Yusuf Idris in a statement.
The gunmen opened fire on the vehicle in which the victims were going, killing Deputy Budget Director Kabir Ismail and wounding a colleague, the spokesman said.
"Bad elements (…) are still using security uniforms to stop and kidnap law-abiding citizens without suspicion," the statement said.
Attacks on kidnappings have increased in northwestern Nigeria, the home of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Criminal groups and bandits – cattle thefts, kidnappings and village destruction – have benefited from the lack of security in rural areas.
Entire villages have been deserted for fear of raids by criminal gangs in the dense forest that stretches north-west Nigeria and neighboring Niger.
In the first three months of 2019, nearly half of the kidnappings in the country took place in Zamfara, said the highest official of the Nigerian police.
Security forces launched "Operation Puff Adder" in April to combat kidnappings and armed robbery on the roads of northwestern and central Nigeria.
Buhari extended Tuesday the operation in the south of the country after a series of attacks "as part of a complete overhaul of the road safety architecture".
Source link
