Gunmen kill Syrian bizman, abduct son in Kano

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have killed a Syrian businessman and abducted his 14-year-old son in Kano.

Daily Trust gathered that Ahmed Abu Areeda was shot dead by the gunmen on Tuesday after he resisted the abduction of his son, Muhammad Ahmed.

The incident occurred around 8.05pm when the deceased, accompanied by his two children, went to the Kano State Office of the Nigerian Red Cross Society along Hospital Road to pick his car.

Some witnesses’ account said the gunmen were about eight in number.

A witness, who pleaded for anonymity said, “He closed his shop around 8pm and went to pick his car at the Red Cross office compound where he used to park it. Unfortunately, the gunmen who parked outside the office in a green Peugeot car with tinted glass were apparently waiting for him. Some of them followed the deceased into the compound while others remained behind.

“Those that followed the Syrian man into the Red Cross office shot him in the head and took away one of his sons, Muhammad,” the witness said.

An associate of the deceased told Daily Trust that Abu Areeda had been in Nigeria for about 20 years. “He worked with Nigerian Braiding Manufacturers (NBM) for about 10 years as an accountant. He retired recently and opened this business for a living,” he added.

On his part, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Red Cross Society, Kano State branch, Alhaji Musa D. Abdullahi, said “I was called last night after closing from office that someone was killed in our compound. By the time I arrived, I met a lot of people here. So I assisted in conveying the corpse to the hospital.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Magaji Musa Majia, said “It was a case of suspected kidnappers who came to kidnap a boy and in the process they killed his father.”

Majia added that no arrest was made so far in connection with the incident and the whereabouts of the abducted boy was still unknown.

He said that police had commenced investigation into the case.