A Pastor of the Evangelical Church Winning All in Nariya, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Rev. Dauda Bature, has been killed by his abductors after 30 days in captivity.
According to available information, the pastor was killed after his wife delivered part of the N5 million ransom demanded.
This development came to the fore just as reports filtered in that gunmen in their numbers stormed parts of Sabon Tasha GRA, Oil Village and Anguwan Bulus areas of Kaduna metropolis, abducting eight residents, including a policeman and his family.
Pastor Bature was abducted on his farm on November 8, 2021, with his abductors demanding N5 million as ransom.
His wife was reported to have gone to deliver part of the ransom when she too was kidnapped.
She was, however, freed on December 6, 2021 to go and raise more money for her husband’s release.
These developments were confirmed on Saturday by the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, Rev. Joseph Hayab.
The CAN boss said: “It was yesterday (Friday) that the information came when our pastors were at a conference and the leaders of the church went to officially tell the wife that her husband is no more, so that they don’t continue negotiations with the bandits.”
On the fresh attack on Thursday, Hayab said: “The bandits broke into a house at Tanko Kokwain Street, but when they discovered that there was no one in the house, they set it ablaze.
“They came in large number and were shooting indiscriminately, some of them were wearing military uniforms.
“The entire community was gripped by fear, everybody was helpless, because we cannot stand their weapons.”
According to him, the arrival of soldiers led to the rescue of a pregnant woman and her son who were abducted by the bandits.
In the attack on Oil Village located near the GRA, a mother and her four children were said to have been abducted.
The bandits had in an earlier attack on Anguwan Bulus, also located near the Sabo GRA, abducted a policeman, his wife and son.
It was learnt that the policeman, said to be serving in Abuja, came to visit his family when the bandits struck.
Confirming the GRA attack in a statement, Mohammad Jalige, the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, said the bandits invaded GRA and Oil Village at about 1am on Saturday.
Jalige said: “The Kaduna Police Command through Divisional Police Officer Sabon Tasha Division Kaduna acted on a distress call received from a good Samaritan to the fact that some suspected bandits numbering about 30 with some in military gears and bearing dangerous weapons, were making ferocious effort to break into a residential area at Sabo GRA in Chikun LGA of the state in an attempt to commit heinous crime.
“On receiving the distress call, operatives were immediately mobilized with the support of other security agents to the scene with a view to thwart the bandit’s intention.
“The criminals, on sensing the presence of security agents, started shooting indiscriminately.
“The criminals, being frustrated by the police and other security agents, set the resident on fire and fled for their lives.
“Unfortunately, it was discovered that the bandits operated simultaneously with one at oil village in the same Sabo location where they kidnapped a woman and her four children to an unknown destination.”