A member of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly Ismail Danbaba has been kidnaped.
Danbaba who represents Nasarawa Central constituency was kidnapped on Saturday evening along Sanga forest in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The lawmaker was on his way to the Plateau State capital, Jos for a workshop.
Although the police are yet to confirm the incident, the Chairman House Committee on information Mohammed Omadefu told Channels Television on the phone that the abductors have made contact and negotiations for his release are ongoing.
READ ALSO: Parents Of Abducted Greenfield University Students Seek Govt Assistance
Not A ‘Penny’
Kaduna, in recent months, has become a hotbed of kidnapping and banditry, raising concerns over the safety of the northwestern state.
The mass abductions of students have also become prevalent in the state with kidnappers having a field day.
On Saturday, 14 students and staff of the Greenfield University in Kaduna were released by their abductors after a 40-day ordeal.
The kidnapped students and staff were freed at a location along the Kaduna- Abuja Highway with the Chairman of the Parents Forum, Markus Zarmai, and few others expected to receive them at the drop-off location.
In addition to providing eight new motorcycles to the kidnappers before they agreed to release their children, the parents of the abducted students admitted to paying a ransom of N150m.
READ ALSO: Three Abducted Greenfield University Students Found Dead
Bandits had on April 20 stormed the educational institution, and abducted the students and staff.
Three days after the incident, the remains of three of the abducted students were found in Kwanan Bature village, a location close to the university with the Kaduna Government reporting on April 26 that the kidnappers had killed two more students.
Despite the rising level of kidnapping in the state, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has repeatedly vowed that his government will not pay ransoms to abductors, claiming that the state is being targeted by bandits and other criminal elements due to its stance on payment of money.
“We have a feeling that the renewed attacks in Kaduna are not unconnected to the position that we have taken as a government that we will not negotiate with criminals,” the governor insisted.
“We will not give them any money and they will not make any profit from Kaduna; anyone that comes to Kaduna will not get a penny from the state government, except he will get a bullet instead.”