70-year-old Chinese farmer kidnapped in Nasarawa

The Nasarawa state police command on Thursday confirmed that some gunmen had kidnapped one Mr Williams Chain, a Chinese farmer, from his farm in Sabon Gida, Kokona local government area of Nasarawa state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Umar Numan, said Mr Chain was abducted on Tuesday at about 4.15pm, and that the police command had since initiated efforts to ensure that the Chinese farmer was rescued.

Numan added that the police were working with other security agencies to curb the activities of kidnappers and armed robbers in the state.

The village head of Sabon Gida, where the farmer was kidnapped, Mallam Maikeffi, expressed worries over the activities of gunmen in the area, which he said had caused the people to leave in fear.

Maikeffi noted that the kidnap of Chain, who has provided employment for over 30 youth on his farm, sent a wrong signal to foreign investors, who might want to collaborate with the Nigerian government to broaden the economy.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday stated that security remains a top priority of his administration.

A statement by the president’s special adviser on media and publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, disclosed that President Buhari gave the assurance while receiving Britain’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Nicholas Houghton, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“For a country to be efficiently administered, it must first be well secured because other social and economic initiatives cannot thrive in an atmosphere of insecurity,” Buhari said.

The president acknowledged the need to secure all parts of the nation so that the over 1.5 million internally displaced persons in the country can return to their homes and resume their normal activities.

Buhari added: “When Boko Haram is pushed out and the environment secured, normal life will be restored. That is what we are determined to do. Other things like farming, economic activities and social life will then return. Nigerians are quite enterprising.”

The president appreciated Britain’s support for the retraining of Nigeria’s armed forces and asked for more assistance in other areas such as logistics, equipment and intelligence.