A joint team of local vigilantes and hunters group on Sunday foiled kidnap of travellers at Ahoko bridge, along the Abuja-Lokoja highway, arresting the two kidnappers.
This is just as the Adamawa State Government has banned the operations of the Professional Hunters Association of Nigeria across the 21 Local Government Areas of the State, especially in Demsa, Numan, Lamurde, Guyuk and Shelleng.
A member of the Abuja-Lokoja Vigilante, Hunters’ group said that the kidnappers suddenly appeared at a sharp bend some few meters away from the bridge and were about to open fire on vehicles when the combined team of the vigilantes and hunters arrived.
According to him, “actually, we were on a combined patrol with the vigilante and hunters while descending down the bridge, when two among the kidnappers suddenly appeared and attempted to open fire on a vehicle, in which we immediately engaged them,” he said.
He said the two kidnappers attempted to escape, after their guns did not fire, but were apprehended immediately.
“But the other gang members hiding inside the bush close to the roadside immediately escaped after they discovered that two of their members have been arrested,” he said.
The vigilante member said the two kidnappers have been handed over to security agents in Lokoja, Kogi State capital along with two guns recovered from them.
He said the team had been combing the forest around the area to trace their hideout.
The Kogi State Commander of the hunters’ group, Hassan Yakubu, confirmed the arrest of two suspected kidnappers at Ahoko, saying the suspected kidnappers have been handed over to security agents.
And in Adamawa State, the Press Secretary to the Governor, Humwashi Wonosikou, said in a Press Statement on Monday that the ban on hunters is due to reports of abuse of the rules of engagement and lack of regard to the traditional institution and security agencies.
The Press Statement quoted the Governor as saying that “the operations and activities of the association in the 5 local governments have become a source of concern and insecurity instead of the security it is fashioned to provide.”
Stating that the activities of the hunters were capable of causing a public disturbance and henceforth should desist from performing any function under the guise of providing security to the public, the Governor added: “More worrisome is the fact that the association operates independently of any security organisation in the 5 Local Government areas, thereby giving room for suspicion of their motive and intentions especially that they operate in uniforms of our security agencies and at odd hours.”
While emphasising that security is everybody’s business, Governor Fintiri however said: “No group or anybody will be allowed to take the law into their hands, disrespect to security agencies and the traditional institution.”
Governor Fintiri has therefore directed security agencies to ensure that the hunters’ association adhere to the decision as the government will not fold its arms and watch criminals have their way.
“I urge security agencies and the traditional institution to collaborate and ensure that peace is maintained across the state before, during and after the yuletide and New Year festivities,” it stated.