An undisclosed number of persons have been abducted by gunmen while travelling in a Toyota Hilux van with registration number CT 01 AF on Monday at about 6:30pm.
The armed men were said to have intercepted the van at a point near Gidan Visa along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway and started firing at it in the bid to compel the driver to stop the vehicle.
One of the men in the van, identified as Mshelia Suleman was injured in the process.
Police Public Relations Officer in Kaduna state, DSP Yakubu Sabo who confirmed the incident said a combined team of operatives from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, PMF and the conventional Police have been mobilized to the area for intensive general search operation with a view to rescue the victims and apprehend the culprits.
He said patrol teams within the axis quickly moved to the scene, rescued the injured person and rushed him to the hospital while the Inspector General of Police team has also been contacted for technical assistance.
The PPRO said a bank teller bearing the name of a possible victim and two footwear have been recovered in the Hilux which has since been taken to the police station.
‘While the operation is still on, investigation on the incident has also commenced and update will follow,” he added.
The Kaduna Police Command however described as fake a story going round to the effect that about 30 people have been kidnapped along Abuja-Kaduna expressway and their vehicles abandoned by the road side on Monday.
He said, “The Command wishes to unequivocally refute the story as fake and fictitiously fabricated by some unpatriotic elements to create panic in the minds of unsuspecting citizens who ply the road for their legitimate businesses.”
