Reps secure release of kidnapped colleague

•DSS probes lawmaker’s abduction on Kaduna highway

From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja

Leadership of the House of Representatives, Garba Durbunde, who represents Sumaila/Takai Federal Constituency, has been released, barely 24 hours after he was kidnapped by gunmen along Kaduna- Jere Road, on Tuesday.
Reports indicated he was abducted  while he was driving to Kano from Abuja on May 30, 2017, around 5:00pm.
Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas confirmed to Daily Sun that Durbunde was released yesterday night.
Daily Sun also gathered that the leadership of the House played a major role in getting the member released.
According to sources, the leadership of the House backed the negotiation for the release of the lawmaker, who was picked by his driver after he was set free. A Facebook post by indicated he was released before 8:00pm. A source in the leadership of the House of  Representatives confirmed Durbunde’s release last night.
The source also disclosed the Department of State Service (DSS) is already investigating the abduction.
Earlier, the House leadership  contacted the kidnappers and “negotiated for his release.
“We have people negotiating with the kidnappers on behalf of the leadership of the House. But, if we have our way, we wouldn’t want the case reported by the media, because we don’t want the men who have our colleague to  know he is a member of the National Assembly”, the source said.
It was also learnt that colleagues of the lawmaker in Kano State caucus met outside the National Assembly, on how to intervene in the matter.  About six members of the caucus left the White House wing of the National Assembly Complex around 11.30am yesterday and headed to the meeting.
Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has condemned Durbunde’s abduction.
A statement issued on Wednesday, in Kano, by his Commissioner  for Information and Culture, Mallam Mohammed Garba, said the governor was shocked by the incident, especially that it happened during  Ramadan.
Ganduje described Durbunde’s kidnapping as “an act of wickedness perpetrated by evil and cold-hearted elements.”
The governor called on the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue him and advised “members of the public to be extra vigilant and security conscious at all times.”

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