Colonel Lawal Rabi’u Yandoto (rtd) has been abducted by a sizable group of alleged armed bandits in Zamfara State. According to a source, Yandoto was traveling from Gusau to his hometown of Yandoto in the Zamfara state’s Tsafe local government area when he was kidnapped.
Two of the man’s children and two other people who were with him were also abducted by the bandits, the area resident, who begged to remain anonymous, said Blueprint in a telephone interview.
He claims that the bandits ambushed the retired Colonel on Sunday night around 6:00 pm and abducted him, his two children, and two other victims.
“Everyone started rushing Helter skelter for our protection after hearing random gunfire by the bandits and extremely close to the Yandoto town.”
He continued by saying that as soon as the shots were fired, the neighborhood learned that the former army officer had been kidnapped by the bandits. At the time the report was being put together, attempts to reach SP. Muhammad Shehu, the spokesperson for the state police command, remained unsuccessful.
It should be recalled that a number of security agents have recently been either killed or kidnapped in that region. In June 2022, gunmen in Niger State attacked a mining site and killed numerous residents, including troops and mobile police officers. The attackers were thought to be bandits.
However, the successful joint military operations by the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to expel bandits from Sokoto and Zamfara states have produced the desired outcomes as relative peace has returned to some local government areas, which were the two states’ flashpoints, THISDAY’s investigation has found.
