Gov Wamakko’s Brother Kidnapped In Sokoto

Alhaji Salihu Barade (Barden Wamakko), the younger brother of Sokoto State governor, Aliyu Wamakko, has allegedly been kidnapped, LEADERSHIP gathered.

Though details of the circumstances surrounding the kidnap were sketchy at the time of filing this report, spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP El-Mustapha Sani, told LEADERSHIP that preliminary investigation revealed that the governor’s younger brother was kidnapped in his farm in Wamakko local government area of the state.

El-Mustapha added that investigation into the matter had begun and that diverse security measures, including the blocking of all entrance and exit routes for strict stop-and-search operations, were already in place by the time of filing this report.

However, it was gathered that the abduction might have some political undertones, with the governorship/House of Assembly elections just three days ahead.

A source, who prefers anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation, said the kidnap was simply aimed at diverting the governor’s attention ahead of Saturday’s election, so that his political grip on the state – as demonstrated in the presidential/National Assembly elections – does not reoccur.

Efforts to speak with any of the governor’s relatives were abortive at the time of filing this report; however, a source from Wamakko local government described the act as callous.