The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Kaduna State chapter, has condemned the abduction of its members by suspected bandits on Saturday night in Kaduna. SWAN is demanding the immediate and safe return of the kidnapped victims and their families.
In a statement signed by the Secretary of Kaduna SWAN, Okpani Jacob Onjewu Dickson, on Sunday, July 7, 2024, the association expressed deep sorrow over the incident.
“We are saddened to wake up to the tragic news of the violent abduction of two of our members, Alhaji Abdulraheem Aodu of the Blueprint Newspaper and Alhaji Abdulgafar Alabelewe of the Nation Newspaper, who were both abducted alongside family members at their respective residences,” Dickson stated. “The incident is disheartening and a development that should be condemned by all.”
SWAN has called on the Federal and Kaduna State governments, as well as security personnel, to take immediate action to ensure the safe return of the abducted individuals. “We also call on all our members to intensify their prayers for their safe return,” the statement added.
The Kaduna State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) also condemned the abduction in a statement signed by the council chairman, Comrade Asmau Yawo Halilu, and the Secretary, Comrade Gambo Santos Sanga. The statement revealed that the victims were abducted from their residences in the Danhono area of Kaduna metropolis, near Millennium City.
“The Kaduna State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has received with shock the brazen and barbaric attack by suspected kidnappers and abduction of the Kaduna correspondents of The Nation Newspaper and The Blueprint Newspaper alongside their families last night at their residences in Danhono area of Kaduna metropolis,” the NUJ statement read.
The union leaders strongly condemned the incident and appealed to security agencies in the state to rescue the journalists and their families.
Reports indicate that Alhaji AbdulGafar Alabelewe and AbdulRaheem Aodu were abducted along with their wives and children around 10:30 pm on Saturday. The armed assailants reportedly stormed the Danhono community in the Millennium City of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna and targeted the homes of the reporters.
A family member of one of the victims, Taofeeq Olayemi, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust on Sunday. He described how the bandits stormed the community and began shooting indiscriminately before the abduction.
“Initially, they picked Alhaji Abdulgafar, his wife, three of his children, and a girl staying with them before asking the girl to return with one of the children, leaving with Abdulgafar, his wife, and two children,” Olayemi reported. “They shattered their doors and windows and removed the burglar bars after scaling the fence.”
Olayemi added that Alhaji Aodu and his wife were also kidnapped, but their sick daughter was left behind.
“They came around 10:30 pm on Saturday and started shooting sporadically. They first burst open Aodu’s door and picked him and his wife, leaving their sick daughter behind,” he said. “Then, they entered Abdulgafar’s house through the fence, went straight into his bedroom, and abducted him, his wife, and two of their kids. They left immediately, after which the vigilantes arrived and started shooting into the air.”