• Thursday, April 25, 2024
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BusinessDay

Gunmen kidnap Edo Customary Court judge

Ransom worth N4.18bn among old notes expected back in banks

Precious Aigbonoga, the president of Igueben Area Customary Court, Edo State, has been reportedly kidnapped by gunmen.

The customary court judge was abducted on Monday morning on the Ugoneki axis in Uhunmwonde local government area while on her way to a court in Igueben council area.

Reacting to the incident, Festus Usiobaifo, the publicity secretary, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Benin branch, condemned “the worrisome insensitivity of these bandits in kidnapping Precious Aigbonoga; an easy-going, gentle, and hardworking judicial officer”.

Usiobaifo, in a statement made available to journalists, said Nosa Edo-Osagie, the chairman of the branch, is deeply sad by the news, adding that the “executive of the Benin branch is in close touch with the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Adamu Dankwara to make sure the victim is released unhurt.”

Read also: Suspected herdsmen attack train station, kidnap passengers in Edo

He said that the kidnapped customary court judge is the wife of Afebu Aigbonoga, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Etsako West Constituency 1.

The customary court judge’s abduction made it the third kidnapping incident in quick succession after the Igueben train attack as well as the recent abduction of a former lawmaker in Edo State.