Tobias Sylvester
A 33-year-old operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Sadiq Abdullahi Bindawa, has been killed by his suspected abductors after receiving the sum of N5 million as ransom from his friends and relatives in Katsina State.
The deceased, who until his death, worked with the DSS intelligence in Abuja, was kidnapped on Saturday at his residence behind federal secretariat in Katsina metropolis.
According to credible family sources, Bindawa and his four-year-old son were in Katsina last Friday to spend the weekend with their relatives when the gory incident occurred.
The assailants in a commando-style operation were said to have trailed the victim to his house located behind the Federal Secretariat Complex, Dandagoro area, Katsina, at about 10:30p.m.
The kidnappers first attacked the private security guards at the entrance of the building before whisking Bindawa off to an unknown destination.
A family member said that the hoodlums demanded a ransom barely 48 hours after his abduction. He said the kidnappers earlier demanded N13 million as ransom, but after a series of pleading and negotiations, they agreed to N5 million for his freedom.
“He was about entering his residence behind federal secretariat on Saturday night at about 10:30pm after returning from our family house when the kidnappers forcefully removed him from his car after beating his security guard to comma. We reported the incident to Batagarawa police station but nothing was done.
“On Sunday, the kidnappers called through his phone line and demanded N13 million as ransom before they will release him, but after a series of pleading and negotiations they agreed to N5 million and said we should meet them in Charanchi and give them the money.
“We took the N5 million to them on Sunday in Charanchi as negotiated. After the payment, they said we should go and receive him in Kurfi town on Monday morning. But when we reached there, we met his dead body with multiple gunshots on his head, ears and back. We buried him on Monday.”
Another source, a relative of the deceased, said: “The abductors demanded N5 million ransom, which was given to them at an agreed point on Sunday. However, after receiving the ransom, they were ambushed by security operatives who were monitoring them, and a shootout occurred.
“Following the firefight, many armed bandits were killed, others fled with bullet wounds and the money. Those that escaped went back to the den and shot dead Bindawa. His body was later found in the bush,” the source said, saying the family was briefed by the SSS who, however, told them not to talk to journalists.
The spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, referred enquiry on the incident to the DSS. He said: “Please, go to the DSS office for any clarification you want to make. They are security agents like the police and they have their public relations unit.”
Efforts to speak with the DSS in Katsina were unsuccessful. The spokesperson of the DSS headquarters, Peter Afunanya, did not return calls or reply a message sent to him.
Meanwhile, KanyiDaily had reported how a pharmacist, Solomon Akuma, spent more than six months in police custody for allegedly making a social media post against President Muhammadu Buhari and his late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
