Immigration officers were kidnapped in Makurdi, the kidnapper demanded a ransom of N20M

A Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) officer, Simon Agbo, has been kidnapped by armed people in Makurdi, the capital of the state of Benue, with his kidnappers reportedly demanding ₦ 20 million ransoms for their liberation.

The incident occurred around 19:15 on Sunday at the residence of Agbo near the NKST Church, Kuan, behind the modern market area. According to a family source who spoke with journalists on Monday, the officer was arrested with a weapon when he was in a neighbor’s company and was taken to an unknown location.

The attackers, described as heavy armed, invaded the complex and fired shots into the air, causing panic among the population before kidnapping officers.

Agbo, who was re -employed to Benue from the state of Kwara in February this year, had just returned to duty in the state.

The local community and the local judge group immediately launched a search operation throughout the night, combing the regional instructions, but the attackers had escaped.

The victim’s younger brother, who gave his name only as Agbo, revealed that suspicion quickly fell on one of the victims’ neighbors, who had made repeated efforts to lure him home that night.

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“The neighbor consistently asked the victim to go home or he had to direct it to his location, because at that time, they needed to see it on Sunday night that determined it, by all means,” he said.

“After a continuous call … my sister went home and immediately went to the neighbor’s complex.

“When they were in the complex to discuss, their other neighbors came to join them, and suddenly, armed people arrived at the complex and immediately went directly to the immigration officer, only chose them with weapons, leaving the remaining two people behind.”

He added that the behavior of neighbors seemed very suspicious, encouraging his arrest.

“The action of neighbors looks very suspicious, and that is why we call on his arrest. He has been arrested and is currently in police custody until our relatives are released,” Agbo said.

“When I talked to you, the kidnappers had opened discussions with the family. They demanded ₦ 20 million ransoms for their liberation to this day.”

At the time of reporting, efforts to reach public relations officers from Nigeria Immigration Service were unsuccessful, and repeated calls to the Benue State Police, Catherine Anene, were heard without responses.

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