Gunmen suspected to be bandits in the early hours of yesterday, reportedly abducted ten Muslim worshippers observing Thajud (vigil) in a mosque at Jibia, Katsina State.
But residents, however, put the figure at 40, while an opinion leader in the town, Mallam Gide Dahiru, put the number of those abducted at 11, including seven men, three women and a boy.
The abduction of the worshippers came on a day former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, retd, declared he had no link with bandits or any other terrorists group within and outside the country. He was reacting to a report by an online platform.
This came as the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, also yesterday said President Muhammadu Buhari should be impeached, if he failed to solve the country’s security problem.
On the abduction in the Katsina mosque, Vanguard learned the gunmen swooped on the mosque located around the New Abbatoir Area in the town, a few minutes after midnight when the worshippers were in the middle of the prayers.
It was also gathered that the bandits did not fire a single shot so as not to attract attention to themselves.
The gunmen reportedly marched the victims out of the mosque to their waiting motorcycles, and, thereafter, moved in the direction of Kaura-Namoda highway with the abductees.
A residents who witnessed the incident from his house but preferred anonymity, said: “The bandits arrived silently a few minutes after midnight. They entered the mosque and marched the victims out.
”During the operation, some gang members positioned themselves within the vicinity of the mosque.
”It was when they were leaving the mosque with the last victim that one of them shot into the air and they then moved along the Kaura-Namoda highway. The gunshot attracted residents and security operatives who later arrived at the mosque.”
He, however, said security operatives, including the police and soldiers, had taken positions in the town.
Reacting to the attack yesterday, the state police command, which rescued 30 of the abductees, said 10 people were still unaccounted for.
Spokesman for the command, SP Gambo Isah, who provided a further explanation of the incident, said: “Today (yesterday) at about 12.30am, gunmen armed with sophisticated weapons attacked a mosque which is a new building located at Abatuwa community.
“The new mosque is located on the road leading to Jibia dam, where there is little people activity, which gave the gunmen the opportunity to carry out the attack.
“The gunmen abducted 40 people, but when we heard about the incident, we didn’t waste time to pursue them and we were able to rescue 30 of them. Ten others are still missing, and we don’t know their whereabouts. An investigation is ongoing.”
Also yesterday, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, retd, denied having any link with bandits or any other terrorists group within and outside the country.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Dr. Yakub Suleiman in Minna, Niger State yesterday, General Abdulsalami described such reports as “false, unfounded and fake.”
The former Head of State, who disassociated himself from the”heinous crime that is unbecoming of any patriotic citizen” said ordinarily, he would have ignored the social media story but has decided to put the record straight.
“This kind of fake news has the potential of aggravating the already tense security situation in the country and should not be condoned,” he said.
He expressed regret about how individuals could be so callous to peddle such news and smear the image and character of people and, therefore, called on Nigerians to ignore the story.
“I urge Nigerians to ignore such treacherous acts and to be careful with the kind of information they dish out and share on social media,” he advised.
Abdulsalami also urged Nigerians to continue to work and pray for enduring peace in the country, adding that no nation could attain greatness without peace and security of lives and property of its citizenry.
Some online platforms had linked the former Head of State to a purported arrested helicopter supplying food and weapon to bandits in parts of Niger State.
Also, Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has declared a special weekly prayer session across the eight Emirate councils in the State to seek God’s intervention to end insecurity in the State.
Governor Bello, flagged off the special prayers session in Minna, the state capital on Sunday, with Islamic scholars, government officials, traditional leaders as well as other stakeholders in attendance at the Central Mosque in Minna.
The governor said there was the urgent need to seek God’s intervention in the security situation in the state and country in general.
The special prayer, led by the Chief Imam of Minna Central Mosque, Mallam Ibrahim Isah Fari, also featured recitation of some verses from the Holy Qur’an and supplications for God’s intervention on the security challenges confronting the nation.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the prayers, Governor Bello reiterated the need for all and sundry not to relent in fervent prayers to God Almighty, even as he disclosed that the state and federal governments were not leaving any stone unturned towards ending the security challenge in state.
The governor noted that significant progress was being achieved in restoring normalcy to some troubled areas in the state, adding that the prayer session would continue, even after Ramadan fast.
He also called on the people to support the efforts of the state and federal governments towards combating the insecurity across the state and the entire country.
Meanwhile, spokesman of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently solve Nigeria’s insecurity problem.
Speaking on AIT’s ‘Kakaaki’ programme, yesterday, Baba-Ahmed said the nation would not wait two more years for Buhari to address the issues of insecurity.”
He said those who had constitutional responsibility must realise that the country was in a dire state, and do something other than just talking and making promises.
Baba-Ahmed said: “One option we have is that the legislators will look at the record of the administration, understand the areas where the president has failed, understand areas where there is clearly no evidence that they’re going to do anything about it and refer to the constitution that says the whole purpose of government is to secure citizens and pursue their welfare.
“In the last six months, two years, what has the president done different to secure the country? Absolutely nothing has been done and yet you see increasing failure of the state to protect citizens.
”The second option is for citizens to get together and decide to do something. The third option is that those leaders who are failing will recognize the fact that they are the problem, and they will resign because they clearly have nothing to offer in terms of leadership.
“Or, as our democratic system provides, those with the responsibility to get them off, should get those who are failing to do their jobs.
“We don’t have a National Assembly that appears to have the levels of patriotism and concern beyond partisan politics to realise that when this roof falls, it also falls on their heads.
“Partisanship is so pronounced that the people we elected and sent to Abuja think they serve the president rather than the Nigerian people.”
He also called on the President to arrest the prominent persons allegedly sponsoring insecurity in the country, saying “I wish he would arrest just two, three of these enemies of the state and deal with them.
”We are tired of hearing the President and his spokespeople saying there are enemies of the state. Enemies of the state is defined clearly under law.
“If there are people who are causing this insecurity, the government has evidence that they’re doing so, then in the name of God, let the President arrest these people, bring them up, show Nigerians what they’re doing, and then show evidence that the government is actually dealing with insecurity.”
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