The Adamawa State Police Command has rescued a kidnapped victim for whom N90 million was demanded as ransom.

The captors had held the victim, Alhaji Sidiki Isah, a 54-year-old resident of Tambo Village in Girei Local Government Area, in their hideout and demanded N90 million from his family.

Police operatives, however, succeeded in locating the captors’ hiding place and freed the victim from their custody.

This was disclosed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Adamawa State Command, SP Suleiman Nguroje, in a statement made available to newsmen in Yola, explaining that the operation followed intelligence received by the Command regarding the abduction of Sidiki Isah.

“On the strength of the information, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kabir Umar Hassan swiftly deployed operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, using geospatial intelligence linked to the kidnappers and immediately embarked on a rescue mission in collaboration with members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to the identified hideout,” Nguroje explained.

According to him, during the operation, the area was strategically cordoned off, but upon sighting the combined security team, the kidnappers opened fire on the operatives.

“The security team responded professionally and successfully repelled the attackers,” Nguroje said.

According to him, two suspected kidnappers were neutralised during the exchange of gunfire, while other members of the gang fled the scene with bullet wounds.

“Interestingly, the kidnapped victim was rescued safely without injury and has since been reunited with his family,” Nguroje stated, adding that two AK-47 rifles, 17 rounds of live ammunition, a handset, charms and other items were recovered.

Nearly two months after a devastating gas explosion at a Filling Station in the Edibe-Edibe area of Calabar South Local Government Area, the father of a seven-year-old survivor has cried out over what he described as abandonment and the crushing financial burden of his daughter’s treatment.

The victim, Happiness Ekere, suffered severe burns in the March 20 explosion and has remained on admission at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, where doctors continue efforts to save her life.

Her father, Mr. Anietie Ekere, said the family has been left to battle the situation alone, alleging that neither the filling station management nor its owner has reached out to them since the incident occurred.

Speaking emotionally with journalists, Ekere said he has struggled daily to meet the growing medical demands required for his daughter’s treatment.

According to him, doctors frequently ask the family to purchase drugs and medical supplies outside the hospital, expenses he said have become overwhelming for him as a casual labourer surviving on irregular income.

“Some days I spend close to N10,000 just on medication alone,” he said. 

“That does not even include transportation or feeding. I am only trying my best to keep my daughter alive.”

He disclosed that Happiness recently underwent surgery, while doctors have reportedly informed the family that another major procedure may cost over N1 million.

The grieving father said the situation has become even more painful following the death of his 15-year-old son, Solomon Ekere, who also sustained injuries in the explosion and later died about a week after the incident.

“My daughter is still struggling to stand or walk properly,” he said. “I don’t know where the money will come from anymore. I just pray she survives.”

A member of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, and a volunteer support group assisting the family, said sympathisers have already spent close to N1 million on drugs, tests and wound management since the incident happened.

The source, who requested anonymity, explained that many prescribed medications were unavailable within the hospital and had to be sourced from private pharmacies.

According to the volunteer, some injections cost as much as N13,000, while routine wound dressing expenses could rise to about N15,000.

The source, however, acknowledged that the Cross River State Government had intervened in aspects of the surgery and certain hospital procedures, though most daily treatment expenses were still being handled by volunteers and the family.

Ekere has now appealed to the Cross River State Government, public-spirited individuals and humanitarian organisations to urgently come to the aid of his daughter.

“All I want is for my child to live,” he pleaded. “I cannot bear losing another child.”

There are reports suggesting that about two days ago, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, distributed food palliatives and other supports originally meant for the victims of the gas explosion in Calabar but  most beneficiaries were not persons affected by the incident.

A violent windstorm, accompanied by heavy rainfall, has killed a woman and wreaked havoc across several communities in Obi Local Government Area of Benue State on Wednesday.

The victim, yet to be identified, was a popular food vendor in Obarike, along the Ogore axis of Obi LGA. She lost her life after a giant tree collapsed on her during the fierce storm.

Residents said the woman died instantly, leaving neighbours, customers and family members devastated, as mourners besieged the community in tears and disbelief.

Several houses, shops and business premises were damaged, while fallen trees blocked the Secretariat Road around the Ijanke community, causing traffic obstruction and fear among residents.

The chairman of Obi LGA, Hon. Silas Odeh Ahunye, described the incident as one of the worst disasters witnessed in recent years, disclosing that his residence was also affected.