Former DSS Boss Kidnapped By Gunmen In Benue

Gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, on Wednesday abducted a retired senior officer of the Department of State Services, Peter Unogwu, popularly known as Naraguta, in Benue State.

The victim, according to a source, who operates a hotel in Igumale, the headquarters of the Ado Local Government Area of the state, was said to be travelling along the Otukpo-Utonkon- Igumale road when the gunmen stopped his car and took him to an unknown place.

The source, who simply identified himself as Onazi Agbo, told our correspondent on the phone that the retired DSS officer, who once served as Chief Security Officer of Chevron Nigeria Limited, was kidnapped during the trip.

“He was coming from Otukpo to Igumale and on approaching Igumale,0 at the site of the proposed Igumale cement factory, some men waylaid him and forcefully took him away.

“The incident happened around 5pm yesterday (Wednesday).

Agbo called on security agencies to intervene in the security challenges confronting Igumale community, saying the local government headquarters was no longer safe for them as kidnapping had become a routine.

Naraguta’s abduction came barely one month after a popular businessman from the area was kidnapped and made to pay millions of naira before he was released from the kidnappers’ den.

As of the time of filing this report, the kidnappers had yet to open contact with the family of the victim.

When contacted, the state Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Catherine Anene, confirmed the abduction of the retired DSS officer but said the police were on the trail of the kidnappers.

Anene said, “The former DSS man was kidnapped yesterday (Wednesday) our men are already trailing the kidnappers”.