KADUNA, Nigeria — Five members of the Islamic group Dawah Tabligh Jammah were abducted under the cloak of the early morning darkness on Sunday, May 21, 2023, their absence from the Abuja-Kaduna expressway stirring a wave of fear and apprehension in the region.
The victims were returning home from a Dawah programme held in Kano State, Northern Nigeria when they were forcibly taken.
The confirmation of the kidnapping incident came from Mallam Ibrahem Al-Amin, a member of Dawah Tabligh Jammah.
Speaking to the press on Monday, May 22, 2023, he provided some details. “Between Kaduna and Abuja expressway on Sunday, May 21, 2023, five of our members were kidnapped.
They were coming from the Dawah programme in Kano, which started on Thursday, May 20, 2023, and ended on Sunday.
They are members of Dawah Tabligh Jammah, all five of them are from Oyo State.”
This recent incident has brought back into focus the security challenges along the notorious Abuja-Kaduna expressway.
The highway is a critical road link between the nation’s capital, Abuja, and Kaduna, a major city in the north.
It has increasingly been the scene of numerous abductions and attacks in recent years, an issue which has drawn national and international concern.
Efforts to glean further details or official comments from the Kaduna State Police Command have so far been unproductive.
Muhammed Jalige, the public relations officer of the Kaduna State Police Command, did not respond to calls or text messages sent to him in the wake of this incident.
The lack of comment from official channels only amplifies the public’s demand for swift action and transparency from the government and the security agencies.
As the dust settles on this unsettling event, the whereabouts of the five Dawah Tabligh Jammah members remain unknown and their safety uncertain.
The silence from the authorities further fans the flames of public outcry against rampant insecurity on the country’s highways.
As Nigerians grapple with the increasing violence and crime rates, they are looking to their government and law enforcement for answers and, above all, solutions.
