A commissioner in the Jigawa State Independent Electoral Commission and a traditional title holder in Dutse emirate, Alhaji Idris Kachi (Ganuwar Dutse), and four other persons have been declared missing after not being seen in three weeks.
They were last seen said about three weeks ago when they went on a trip to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital in a Toyota Hilux van, fuelling speculations that they might have been killed or abducted by the dreaded Boko Haram Islamist sect.
A family source told this correspondent that Kachi left his home, Dutse, with his eldest son, an elder brother, his driver and a childhood friend with the intention to go to Maiduguri to commiserate with one of his associates who lost his father. But they never made it to Maiduguri.
One of his cousins, Muhammed, said, “I’m confused. We don’t know what to do. Why all of them at the same time? Alhaji is humble, generous, peace-loving and a man of the people. He has no enemies and he assists whoever comes to him without discrimination.
Meanwhile, the Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has directed operatives of the state’s Joint Task Force to collaborate with their Borno State counterparts to find the missing persons and ascertain their condition.
Also, the Dutse emirate council has contacted other traditional institutions in Yobe and Borno States to assist in unearthing the abductors and the whereabouts of Kachi and his companions.