Gunmen kidnap professor, kill brother in Yola

Gunmen have Kidnapped Adamu Zata, a professor of soil science at Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola, Adamawa state.

Suleiman Nguroje, spokesman of the state police command, confirmed the incident on Monday.

Nguroje said the kidnappers killed the professor’s younger brother, Sheda Zata, a veterinary doctor.

He said the incident took place about 2:00am while the professor and members of his family were still in bed.

He said the command have commenced an investigation into the incident, adding that the commissioner of police has ordered operatives deployed to “ransack the city until the kidnappers are brought to book”.

He said the remains of Zata have been deposited at the specialist hospital in the state.

A family member was quoted as saying the armed men broke into the house of the professor through the fence in Girei. He said all the occupants of the house were brought to the living room while the kidnappers went on to search the property.

The robbers were said to have collected the cellphones of the occupants and took away the professor at gunpoint.

According to the source, the 49-year-old deceased was shot when he tried to stop the gunmen from taking his brother away.

This is the second time the MAUTECH professor would be kidnapped. He was kidnapped in October 2018 at his residence and was freed after paying a ransom of N2 million.

Kidnapping across the country has been on the increase despite different measures adopted to check it.

Earlier in the month, Gideon Okedayo, a professor at the department of mathematical science of Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), Okitipupa, was kidnapped along Auchi road in Edo state.

In August, Abubakar Idris, a lecturer at the Federal University, Dutsinma in Katsina, was kidnapped at his residence in Kaduna.

The lecturer was trailed by the kidnappers while he was returning home.