Thursday, April 2, 2026 - Gunmen have abducted eight charcoal burners in the Nyalun community, Bashar District, of Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident occurred on Tuesday evening as the victims were
returning home after processing charcoal on the outskirts of the community.
During an interview with Punch metro, a youth leader in
Wase, Shapi’i Sambo, confirmed the incident on Wednesday.
He said the kidnappers initially abducted 10 occupants of
the vehicle but later released two in Garga, Kanam Local Government Area, to
relay a ransom demand.
“The victims were returning around 7:30 p.m. when the
perpetrators suddenly stopped their vehicle, which was loaded with charcoal,
and took them away.
“It is a shocking incident because the victims were
struggling to make ends meet when this happened,” the youth leader said.
He identified the abducted victims as Hassan Sa’idu,
Shamsudden Abubakar, Usamatu Yakubu, Dayyabu Usman Waziri, Inkilulu Dauda, Ado
Sambo, Sule Dahiru, and Umar Amadu.
Sambo added that the kidnappers were believed to have taken
the victims into the Kukawa bush, a known hideout for criminal groups.
One of the two persons released, Mummuni Musa, said the
victims were tied up before he and another person were freed to deliver the
ransom message.
“The kidnappers told us to go home and tell the owner of the
vehicle to sell it and pay the ransom for the eight persons,” he said.
Communities in Wase and Kanam Local Government Areas have,
in recent years, recorded repeated cases of kidnapping and banditry.
The latest incident comes about two weeks after gunmen
killed soldiers and vigilantes in Kanam Local Government Area.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the Plateau State
Police Command, DSP Alabo Alfred, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing
this report.
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