Eight people including a son of a traditional ruler were abducted by gunmen at Illela village in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The gunmen, numbering over 15, invaded the village at about 4pm on Thursday.
Daily Trust gathered that the gunmen were part of the bandits that have been terrorizing the area for the past few months.
A resident of the village, Dauda Suleiman, told Daily Trust in a telephone interview that the eight people including the son of the District Head of Zip town were abducted and taken to an unknown location.
He said the bandits are now in control of the area and they move with guns freely during the day and night.
Suluiman stated further that there was no presence of security agents, adding that many people including women were robbed and kidnapped.
“The bandits are in control of the area and have forced many of the residents to relocate out of the area,” he said.
The District head of Zip, Alhaji Uba, told Daily Trust in a telephone interview that his son Buhari was among the eight people abducted, disclosing that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N70million.
The chairman of Karim-Lamido, Mr Markus Hamidu, told Daily Trust that he was yet to confirm the abductions and activities of the bandits in the affected areas.
The spokesperson of the Taraba police command, DSP Usman Abdullahi, did not respond to telephone calls and a text message sent to him over the incident.
