1 killed as gunmen kidnap German professor in Kaduna

They were said to have been abducted by unknown gunmen at Jenjela village in Kagarko local government area of the state.

According to The Cable, citing an eyewitness, the gunmen left two ladies who were with the victims during the time of their abduction.

It was gathered that Breunij is to head a four-man team from the University of Frankfurt, Germany, working in collaboration ‎with the National Commission for Museum and Monuments and other institutions on the relics of Nok culture in Nigeria.

"They started coming one by one, the first two came with machetes, then others came with heavy guns," the witness, who is said to be part of the team working with the Germans was quoted as saying.

"There were many people at the site who were working at the time, so they ordered us to lay face down and started shooting into the air in order to scare people.

"It was at that point that they asked the professor and his associate to follow them and they led them to the other side of the road.

"They made them to cross the road to the other side from where we were and began to lead them further into the bush."

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The witness said after the abductors left with the victims, members of the community regrouped to chase them, but they opened fire on them once the assailants found that they were being followed.

He said: "One of us who is a hunter suggested that we go after them, but only one of us agreed and the two of them crossed the road, chasing the gunmen

"When the kidnappers realised that the two men were following them, they turned and opened fire, killing the hunter and the other man."

The spokesman of the Kaduna state police command, who was contacted regarding the incident, could not immediately the abduction.

Kagarko, which shares a boundary with federal capital territory (FCT), has recorded different cases of kidnapping along the area in recent times.