… Police kill bandit, recover AK47 rifle, 9 motorcycles on Kaduna-Abuja Highway***

Gunmen have abducted Rev. Fr. James Kantoma, the Parish priest of St. Anthony Catholic Church, Angware, Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau.

DSP Alabo Alfred, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, confirmed the abduction to the newsmen on Monday in Jos.

Also read: Gunmen shoot 5 MWUN members

Alfred said that Kantoma, who is also the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the local government, was kidnapped on Sunday night at the church’s vicarage.

He said the command has deployed officers and men from the anti-kidnapping unit to the community.

“Our men are already working to ensure that the cleric regains his freedom and apprehend those behind the abduction,” the PPRO said.

Speaking, Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo, the Chairman of CAN in the state, described the incident as ”unfortunate and sad.”

“Since the gunmen took the priest away, we have not heard anything either from him or the abductors.

”This is so sad, but we are praying for him that no harm will befall him wherever he is,” he said.

Lubo, however, called on government and security agencies to ensure the safe return of the abducted priest and others in captivity.

In another development, a combined team of police and military operatives foiled a mission by bandits on the Kaduna-Abuja Highway on Monday.

The team killed one of the bandits and recovered one AK47 rifle and nine of their operational motorcycles.

Police spokesman in Kaduna State, DSP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the incident in a statement issued in Kaduna.

He stated that the feat was another indication of successful and purposeful synergy between the police and the military in Kaduna State.

“On Monday, June 13 at 2:55 a.m. a team of Police Operation Puff Adder and that of the army’s Operation Thunder Strike on routine patrol along the Kaduna-Abuja highway encountered the bandits at Sabon Sara.

“An exchange of gunfire ensued as a result of which the friendly forces truncated the bandits’ mission forcing them to retreat into the forest as one bandit was neutralized.

“Upon a search of the general area, an AK47 rifle and nine bandits’ operational motorcycles were recovered,’’ he stated.

The police urged residents in the area to report people with suspected gunshot wounds to security agencies as “injured criminal elements will be hibernating around nearby communities to access healthcare services’’.