Daily Trust Sunday

Gunmen attack Adamawa Utd players, kidnap driver

… demand N50m ransom

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Adamawa United Football Club driver, Alhaji Kabiru has been kidnapped while a ransom of N50m has been demanded for his release. The players were attacked on Friday by gun men on the outskirt of Benin along Benin-Ore Express Way on their way to Lagos for the Nigeria Profession­al Football League Match Day 11 clash with MFM FC scheduled for today.

The Vice chairman of the club, Abdullahi Abdulkadir told our reporter that the kidnappers had contacted him early morning on Saturday, threatenin­g to kill the driver, if ransom was not paid.

“The kidnappers contacted me this morning around 6 am, asking for N50 m or they kill the driver”, he stated.

Abdulkadir disclosed that the gun men had robbed the players of their belongings including phones, money and food before taking the driver in to the bush.

“We lost contact with the players until 11 pm on Friday when the team manager told me that they had been robbed of their valuables and our driver abducted by gun men around 6:30 pm”.

“We are in a state of shock over the incident but we have informed our superiors and are awaiting response”, he noted.

Speaking with midfielder, Adams Tunde, the players are thoroughly shaken by the event but he is not certain if they will be able to play.

“Though I didn’t travel with them because of my injury, I spoke with my team mates and they are just thankful they are alive but are worried about the driver who was taken away. They are shaken by the event. They are in Lagos now and I don’t know if they will play or not,” he said.

Ineos Grenadiers’ Tao Geoghegan Hart was involved in a crash but recovered to finish the opening stage of the Tour du Haut Var, won by Bauke Mollema. The British 2020 Giro d’Italia champion finished in 38th place, 14 seconds down, in the three-day race in France.

Welshman Geraint Thomas, 34, was Ineos’ first rider home, arriving safely in the lead group.

Trek-Segafredo rider Mollema beat AG2R Citroen’s Greg van Avermaet on the summit finish on the Gourdon.

On his debut for Ineos, 21-year-old Tom Pidcock finished 86th, five minutes and 47 seconds behind.

 ??  ?? From Kabiru R. Anwar and Olusola ‘Jide
Adamawa United players brainstorm on tactics during a recent league match
From Kabiru R. Anwar and Olusola ‘Jide Adamawa United players brainstorm on tactics during a recent league match
 ??  ?? Geoghegan Hart
Geoghegan Hart

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