Deputy vice-chancellor of Anchor University, Lagos, Professor Johnson Fatokun, has been kidnapped by gunmen in Nasarawa state, police say.
His kidnappers have demanded N20million in ransom.
He was travelling from Jos to Keffi in Nasarawa state on Monday when he was kidnapped by armed men at about 9:00 p.m. along Akwanga-Keffi highway.
Police spokesperson in the state, ASP Ranham Nansel, said Fatokun “was attacked by gunmen to an unknown destination at Kurmi Shinkafa village, in Kokona Local Government Area.”
Police has mobilised a search-and-rescue team comprising mobile police and anti-kidnapping operatives to rescue Fatokun and arrest his kidnappers.
The team is also working in collaboration with the Military, vigilante group and local hunters to rescue the victim, Nansel said.
A staff of the kidnapped, Mr. Umazayi Emmanuel who was with him on the journey said that they were approaching Garaku in Kokona when they the gunmen who blocked the road, shot sporadically and forced their vehicle to stop.
“When we stopped, they ordered us into the bush and started speaking in Hausa dialect. When I told them I don’t understand Hausa, one of them cocked the gun and wanted to shoot at me but ran out of bullet,” he said.
He said that when the gunman discovered that he was out of bullet he brought out his knife to stab him but he escaped miraculously, ran and hid himself in a drainage.
“While the gunmen were searching for me, soldier came and engaged them in a gun battle. In the process the armed gang fled into the bush with the professor,” he said.
N20 million ransom
He said that the abductors later called and demanded the sum of N20 million ransom for the release of the professor.
Professor Fatokun was a former Dean, Faculty of Science and Education and Head of Department of Mathematical Science and Information Technology, Federal University, Dutsin-Ma in Katsina State.
He is the Pioneer Deputy Vice-Chancellor Anchor University, Lagos, and Dean, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences of the university.
The Commissioner of Police commiserated with the family of the kidnapped victim and assured that an unrelenting manhunt of the hoodlums had begun.
He said measures had also been put in place to forestall future occurrences.
Bola Longe called on members of the public to assist the Police with useful information that would lead to the rescue of the victim and arrest of the perpetrators of the crime.
His abduction comes days after gunmen on Sunday in Wusasa, Zaria kidnapped a university professor and killed his son.
Professor Aliyu Mohammed is of the department of agriculture at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and the Wazirin Wusasa.
His son Abdulaziz was shot in the incident around 10.30pm on Sunday, his brother Usman Aliyu told the media in Zaria.
Abdulaziz’s younger brother was also shot in the incident.
