In the early hours of Monday, December 6, unknown gunmen kidnapped Alhaji Abdulkadir Suleiman, the district head of Amar village in Karim Lamido, a local government area of Taraba State.

RNI reporter Muhammad Ali Umar said the snatchers stormed the monarch’s palace at about 1am on Monday and took him away while everybody was asleep.

Deputy superintendent of police Usman Abdullahi confirmed the attack saying it happened a week after kidnappers had abducted the monarch’s son and 20 other men and women.

The police officer said most of the women who were kidnapped had been raped by the gunmen.

He said that he had heard that the kidnappers had contacted the monarch’s family and were demanding a ransom of 50 million naira for his release. Negotiations were ongoing.

It was not known if the kidnappers had asked for a ransom for the release of Suleiman’s son and the 20 others kidnapped.

Abdullahi said kidnappings had become common occurrences in Karim Lamido which is between the border of the Taraba and Plateau states in northeastern Nigeria.