Adamawa Council vice chairman was kidnap by Boko Haram

The Adamawa State Police Command on
Wednesday confirmed the abduction of the Vice
Chairman of Hong Local Government, Bijida
Yakubu, by gunmen suspected to be members
of the Boko Haram.
The Public Relations Officer of the command,
Othman Abubakar, who confirmed the incident,
said three vigilante members that were with Mr.
Yakubu lost their lives in the encounter.
Mr. Abubakar, who did not give details, however,
said the police officers investigating the
incident have so far recovered the vice
chairman’s shoes.
A resident of Hong who simply identified
himself as Hussaini said that the incident
occurred in Gayafa Village of the area.
“You know, insurgents attacked the village last
week. The vice chairman who hailed from the
village was on an assessment visit with some
hunters when the insurgents attacked and over-
powered them.
“About seven insurgents were killed in the
encounter before they over-powered the hunters
and took away the vice chairman,” he said.
Mr. Hussaini claimed that the abducted vice
chairman was later allowed by his captors to
call his wife with his cell phone before the
device was switched off.
The Chairman of Adamawa branch of the
Association of Local Governments of Nigeria,
Sahabo Gurin, also confirmed the incident.
Adamawa is one of the three states most
affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The insurgency has caused the death of about
20,000 people in northern Nigeria with hundreds
of thousands of others displaced.
The Nigerian military recently began a major
offensive against the group, reclaiming some of
the territory initially seized by the insurgents.
(NAN)