Gunmen on Tuesday night in Manchok, Kaduna state, killed Mr Daniel Yatai, the father of Philip Yatai, a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and abducted his niece, Brenda.
And in Ogbomoso, the abducted student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso in Oyo State, Rachael Opadele; a Hotelier, Mr Olugbenga Owolabi and one other, have been killed by their abductors.
Opadele, who was working with the hotelier (Owolabi), due to the ongoing nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), were abducted on Friday in Ogbomoso.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered on Wednesday that the victims were reportedly shot dead on Tuesday evening by the kidnappers after collecting N5 million as ransom.
A family source, who pleaded anonymity, said that a motorcycle operator, who carried the man with the ransom to the designated spot in the bush, was also killed, while the ransom carrier sustained injuries.
The source said that the abductees and motorcycle operator were shot dead in anger, while the ransom carrier is currently receiving medical attention in an undisclosed hospital.
The ransom was taken to the bush on Ogbomoso-Ilorin Expressway, around Igbon area.
The source said that the kidnappers became angry when they noticed the presence of soldiers at the LAUTECH area.
The soldiers had stormed Ogbomoso on Tuesday in order to beef up security as a result of increasing rate of kidnapping in the area.
When contacted, SP Adewale Osifeso, the Police Public Relations Officer, who neither confirmed nor denied the reports, promised to get back to NA.
In Kaduna, NAN reports that the terrorists who killed the father of the NAN correspondent, also abducted Mr Amos Magbon, Rector of Federal School of Statistics, Manchok, in Kaura Local Government of the state.
The journalists father, Mr Daniel Yatai, 86, retired from the Nigeria Railway Corporation in 1991
The second child of the victim who witnessed the sad event, Ms Christiana Yatai, said that the gunmen came to the house at about 11:15pm.
“We were five in the house; myself, my dad, my mum, two of my nieces and a nephew.
“They asked us to open the door and when we refused, they broke the main entrance and gained access to the house.
“My father was in his room and one of them wearing a mask, who was outside, shot him through the window and and the bullet hit him from the back.
“Those who entered the house later went to his room and finished him up.
“They went away with one of my niece, Ms Brenda Friday, 21, a final year student of Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya,” she narrated.
Another child of the deceased, Mr Joseph Yatai, said the gunmen had contacted the family and demanded N15 million to release the girl.
Similarly, brother to the rector, Innocent Magbon, said the gunmen had also reached out to the family to ask for a N15m ransom.
When contacted for his comments on the issue, Kaduna Police Command spokesperson, DSP Mohammed Jalige, promised to get back to NAN.
▪︎ By NAN
