The Kaduna Police Command has debunked the story being circulated by The Premium Times that 30 people were killed and 100 abducted when bandits attacked an emir.

The Nigeria Police Kaduna State Command refuted the claims in a statement signed by its Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Yakubu Abubakar Sabo, made available on Sunday January 19, 2020.

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“The attention of the Kaduna State Police Command has been drawn to a story that was published on The Premium Times Newspaper of today 19th January, 2020 and is being circulated on Social Media captioned “Bandit Attack: Buhari sympathises with Emir but keeps mum on 30 People Killed, 100 Kidnapped” and referring to the kidnapping incident of 14/01/2020 along Kaduna- Zaria Road.

“The Command wishes to categorically state that, it has high respect for the sanctity of human life and cannot underestimate such value. It therefore strongly debunks the story as false and a misrepresentation of facts aimed at causing more fear in the minds of the Public and enjoins the Public to jettison the report as misleading.

“It will be recalled that on the 14th day of January, 2020, the Command made a statement confirming the death of six victims while five others who sustained varying degrees of injuries were taken to hospital for treatment,” it stressed.

In the statement, titled, “RE: BANDITS ATTACK: 30 PEOPLE KILLED-100 KIDNAPPED” the Police said that as an update, one of the five persons receiving treatment later died in the hospital which made the toll to seven while four persons are still being treated.

“Out of the number of the deceased victims, the following have been identified as; (1) Shehu Wakama 62yrs (2) Sulaiman Ba’amalum 60yrs (3) Maina Kaina 60yrs (4) Adamu Lawal 32 (5) Danjuma Adamu 35yrs (6) Adamu Musa and one other whose name and address is not yet identified.

“While the injured persons in the incident are; (1) Sgt Mohammed Tanko (2) Philiha David (3) Ismail Yau and (4) Umar Maiwada respectively,” it stated.

It pointed out that on the number of persons abducted, investigation is still ongoing to ascertain the exact figure.

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“However, only six (6) families have so far contacted the Command to report the involvement of their relations.

“Thus, while regretting the unfortunate incident, the Command still maintains this casualty figure as accurate until more facts prove to the contrary.

“Consequently, the Command wishes to warn members of the Public who share messages related to security from unverifiable sources to desist, as the Command would not hesitate to deal decisively with any person or group of persons who engage themselves in such malicious publication/circulation,” it added.

It urged the press to continue to uphold high ethical standards of their profession.

“All accounts of crime incidents should be verified before publication to avoid being involved in sharing mischief. Internet subscribers should also be cautious in sharing stories of questionable sources, especially via social media.

“In conclusion, the command wishes to reaffirm its unrelenting commitment towards fighting crime and criminality to the barest minimum and calls for General Public cooperation to achieve this noble mission,” it concluded

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