The gunmen who kidnapped Benue State Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mathew Abo, last Sunday in Zaki-Biam, have demanded a ransom of N60 million.
The abductors made the demand in a phone call to a member of the family.
The recipient of the call who pleaded anonymity for security reasons stated that the kidnappers have resorted to torturing the commissioner to press home their demand.
According to the source, they called and turned up the volume on their phone so that their thrashing of the commissioner and his calls for help could be heard.
The kidnappers arrived on four motorbikes, ordered everyone in the house, including the commissioner’s wife and children, to lie face down, and then whisked him away on one of the motorcycles to an unknown place.
According to witnesses, the abductors forced the commissioner to sit behind the rider of one of the motorcycles while a shooter sandwitched him.
The kidnapping occurred after 8 p.m. on September 24, 2023.
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia had already warned his Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism’s kidnappers to release him unharmed.
On Saturday, Governor Alia addressed his supporters at the IBB Square in Makurdi to celebrate his victory at the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
On August 29th, 2023, Mathew Abo was sworn in as a member of the Benue State Executive Council.
