Businessman Killed by Kidnappers in Kwara

Tragedy struck the Okuta community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State as a 45-year-old farm produce merchant, Dauda Ismail, was abducted and killed by suspected kidnappers on Monday, June 23.

The incident occurred in the Takare area of Okuta, where Ismail was reportedly taken captive and later killed by his abductors before security forces could rescue him.

Spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, confirmed the development to reporters. She stated that in a swift response to the abduction, officers from the command engaged the suspects in a gun duel, during which one of the alleged kidnappers was gunned down.

Tragically, a member of the local vigilante team assisting the police also lost his life in the shootout.

Ejire-Adeyemi assured the public that investigations are ongoing and efforts are being intensified to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang and bring them to justice.

The incident has reignited concerns over rising insecurity in rural parts of Kwara, especially in border communities, where criminal gangs have increasingly targeted farmers and merchants.

The Abia State House of Assembly says it passed 37 bills in two years of its existence so far.

The Speaker, Mr Emmanuel Emeruwa, made the disclosure in Umuahia on Tuesday, while briefing newsmen on the achievements of the eighth assembly, inaugurated in 2023.

He listed some of the bills to include the Abia State Appropriation Law of 2023, the Greater Aba Development Authority Law, 2024 and the Abia State Pensions Reform Law of 2024.

Others were the Abia State Security Trust Fund Law, 2024, the Abia State Electricity Law, 2025, the Abia State Senior Citizens Law of 2025 and the Abia State Local Government Administration Law, 2025.

Emeruwa said that the eighth assembly had been making laws that were people-friendly, and had been committed to institutional reforms, participatory governance and sustainable development.

He said, “I thank my colleagues for their quick understanding and for the harmonious relationship we have been enjoying.

“Sometime in May, we were able to get 18 bills assented to in one day, that has not happened in the history of Abia legislature and I don’t think it has happened in other legislatures in Nigeria.

“The governor has assented to all these bills and these laws are enforceable.

“I don’t think it is the lack of law that is the problem of Nigeria or Abia but the implemention.”

Emeruwa further said that one of the notable bills passed into law was the electricity bill, which allows the state to control electricity and enhance industrialisation.

He emphasised that the electricity law would enable investors to come into the state and establish their own electricity companies and power stations.

He underscored the senior citizens law which, he explained, is designed to cater for Abia citizens, who are 60 years and above with monthly salary, free medical bills and other benefits.

“I don’t think there is any other state in Nigeria that has passed that law because we know that senior citizens ought to be catered for in terms of helping them in medical and other needs of life,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the speaker, who highlighted other achievements in terms of oversight and representation, said that the assembly had continued to enjoy a harmonious relationship with the executive.