ASG kidnaps Sulu teacher
ZAMBOANGA CITY: Suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits have reportedly abducted a public school teacher in Sulu, sources said on Tuesday. The victim, Shariff Benjamin Asamli Ubaid, was seized in the capital town of Jolo on Saturday morning, said one of his friends who appealed to the terrorists to free their hostage.
According to this friend, the teacher was a hardworking one.
The abduction was reported only on Monday after the ASG bandits allegedly used Ubaid’s mobile phone to demand P1.5 million in ransom for his safe release.
No other details of the kidnapping were made available, but on the eve of his abduction, Ubaid wrote this on his Facebook account: “Have faith in Allah, everything will be in good hands!”
Police and military authorities did not release any information or reports about the latest abduction, as well as the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Autonomous Regions in Muslim Mindanao.
The motive of the abduction is still unknown, but the Abu Sayyaf has been largely blamed for many ransom kidnappings in the troubled region of Mindanao.
The kidnapping happened while the entire southern Philippines is under an extended period of martial rule over threats of terrorism and insurgency.
It was unclear how the abductors managed to enter Jolo and escaped with their hostage considering the huge presence of soldiers and policemen in the town.