Gunmen Invade Palace, kidnap Traditional Ruler, Wives, Children

A traditional ruler in Taraba State, Sani Suleiman Duna, has been reportedly kidnapped along with his two wives and six children.

The traditional ruler and his family were kidnapped on Friday around 1:00am by yet-to-be-identified heavily armed men suspected to be kidnappers.

The gunmen reportedly shot sporadically in the air to scare the community’s residents with sporadic gnshots.

A palace guard, who craved anonymity, confirmed the incident to Daily Post.

Aligning his weight to that of the palace guard, a resident of the community who gave his name as Usmanu said, “our sleep was disrupted by the gunshots that were being fired in the air by the hoodlums who invaded our community.”

He also pleaded with both the state and federal governments to fashion out ways that would permanently put to rest the security situation bedevilling the local government and the state at large.

At the time of filing this report, the kidnappers had not reached out to the family to demand ransom.

Also confirming the abduction of the monarch and his family members, the state command Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Usman Abdullahi, said, “the traditional ruler and his two wives as well as his six children, were all abducted this morning in Mutum-Biyu by unknown gunmen.”

The command, he vowed, would leave no stone unturned in rescuing the monarch and his entire family members that were kidnapped.