The Kogi State Police Command has said it has begun search for the whereabouts of the Chairman, Yagba West Local Government Area of the state, Mr Pius Kolawole.
Kolawole, and some other people were in the same car with the late Pension Board Commissioner, Mr. Solomon Akeweje.
It was gathered that Late Akeweje was shot dead on Saturday evening by unknown gunmen in his vehicle at Eruku, some few kilometers to Egbe while returning from Ilorin, Kwara State.
The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), DSP William Ovye Aya, who confirmed the incident,on Sunday, said Kolawole was coming from Ilorin, capital of Kwara State to Egbe in Kogi State with Akeweje in the same car when they were attacked by gunmen at Eruku, the boundary between the two states.
The Police image maker said that Akeweje was hit by gunmen’s bullet and died in the process.
He added that his remains had been deposited at ECWA hospital, Egbe, while the whereabouts of Kolawole remained unknown.
“The Commissioner Police of Police in the state, Mr Ede Ayuba, has deployed personnel to the area to search for and rescue the chairman from his abductors. The command is not resting on its oars to secure his release,” Aya assured.
The development has thrown the area into mourning with the people describing it as ”Black Saturday.
The abduction of the council chairman may not be unconnected with his concerted efforts to rid his local government area of hoodlums suspected to be herdsmen terrorising the council.
Kogi State has been experiencing cases of kidnapping and robberies, with many blaming the criminal activities on the deplorable section of the roads.
In recent times, several armed robbery attacks and kidnapping cases have been reported across the three senatorial districts of the state.
Just last week Sunday, police operatives attached to Ajaokuta Division rescued two kidnapped victims who spent four days in the kidnappers’ den.
Few days ago, the Senator representing Edo Central in the National Assembly, Clifford Ordia, was twice attacked on Okene-Lokoja and Lokoja-Abaji roads by bandits in Kogi State on his way to Abuja.
Ordia, who is the Senate Committee Chairman on Local and Foreign Debts, narrated his ordeal to reporters on April 28 in Abuja.
He said he was travelling along the Okenne-Lokoja and Lokoja-Abaji roads on Monday when the daredevil bandits opened fire on his convoy while returning to Abuja from his hometown in Edo State.
The lawmaker noted that during the exchange of fire between the criminals and the security operatives attached to him, three policemen sustained gun wounds.
He explained that one of the wounded policemen was in a critical condition but responding to treatment in one of the hospitals in Abuja.
