Abduct Kidnappers Now in the North
•Canadian student in Kaduna
04.19.2009

Kidnapping of people in exchange for ransome which is very prevalent in the South-south and South-eastern zones in the country has reared its ugly head in the northern part of the country as police confirmed that a Canadian university student on exchange programme was seized in Kaduna on Thursday. [b]A group has demanded money before the woman could be released.
The woman, one of five Canadian university undergraduates on the student exchange programme, was abducted about 9:00pm.
"We have an abduction case on our hands. I can confirm that a Canadian woman was kidnapped Thursday night around 9:00 pm," Aminu Lawan, police spokesman for Kaduna state, told AFP.
"We have commenced investigations to trail her whereabouts and launch a rescue operation,” Aminu said.
A police source said the other four Canadian nationals had been flown out of Nigeria following the kidnapping.
The students had been staying at a Rotary Club residential complex in the southern Kaduna suburb of Rigasa, police said. The Canadian student was abducted by four men while attending an international conference.
The student, who sources said, had a Nigerian male friend, was kidnapped in Narayi in the northern part of the city.
Another source close to the investigation said the kidnappers were seeking a ransom.
"I can't give figures but it's a handsome demand," said the source.
The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa said in an email that Canadian diplomats are in touch with Nigerian authorities and are attempting to secure the woman's release.
The email statement added that consular officials were also in contact with family members, who are asking the media to respect their privacy at this time.
“I can tell you at this point that the government of Canada can confirm that a Canadian national is missing and presumed kidnapped in Nigeria," Lisa Monette said. "The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is in touch with local authorities with a view to securing release of the Canadian national."
Reuters news agency quoted a police officer as saying that gunmen kidnapped a Canadian woman late on Thursday in the northwest Nigerian city of Kaduna.
"The woman was kidnapped around 10 p. m. (Thursday) by four gunmen as she was entering a house," a Kaduna police officer said in a telephone interview.
The police officer, who asked to not be identified, said no one had claimed responsibility.
An official with the Canadian Embassy in Nigeria declined to comment, Reuters said.
"Consular officials are in contact with the family, who have asked that the media respect their privacy at this time," Monette said.
In a related development, an expatriate with a construction firm in Akwa Ibom has been abducted by suspected Niger Delta militants.
The construdtion worker, a Lebanese simply identified as Mosouf, was attached to Gitto Construction firm.
Sources said the Lebanese was abducted at the site of the construction of the Ibom International Airport at Okobo local government area of the state.
Gitto Construction Com-pany is a sub-contractor handling the construction of the runway of the Ibom airport project.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Oki, said the command had put necessary measures in place to effect the release of the expatriate worker.
He disclosed that, already the hierarchy of the Gitto construction outfit had opened contact with the militants at their hide out with a view to securing the release of the worker.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, police authority in the state said the Command was out to pick those behind kidnapping in the state. [/b]

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