Gunmen abduct Niger Delta varsity lecturer’s wife

Some unidentified gunmen have abducted the wife of a lecturer with the Niger Delta University (NDU) at Gbarantoru community in Yenagoa.

Sources in the community told NAN that the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday and that the gunmen fired sporadic shots to announce their arrival.

The gunmen reportedly entered the community through River Nun in a speedboat boat and headed to the residence of the lecturer, identified simply as Charles.

A resident, who pleaded not to be named for fear of being targeted, said that the gunmen missed their target, who evaded escape, prompting them to whisk away his wife, whom they took away in their boat.

The resident said that youths of the community mobilised to the scene of crime few minutes after the shooting only to see the lecturer emerging from where he was hiding.

Asinim Butswat, the spokesman for the state police command, confirmed that the command was aware of the incident and was on the trail of the abductors.

“Yes, I heard of the incident and the police have commenced investigation with a view to apprehending the perpetrators and rescuing the victim,” said Butswat.

The rate of kidnapping in many parts of the country has increased in 2019 despite efforts by the security agencies to address the situation.