KANO (Nigeria), July 3 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — A relative of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been rescued from kidnappers after a gun battle in the northern city of Kano, police say.
Officers raided a hideout where Musa Umar had been held since his abduction two months ago.
Kano police spokesman Haruna Abdullahi said that Umar was rescued unhurt, arrests were made, and arms and ammunition found.
A police officer quoted by the agency said 11 members of the kidnap gang had been arrested and one was killed during the gunfight.
The officer, who asked not to be named, said the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of $11m.
Umar was kidnapped on May 2 by four gunmen in Daura, Buhari’s hometown.
Kidnapping for ransom was once confined to Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta region, but has now spread to the north of the country.
Travellers in the north-western states of Zamfara, Kaduna and Katsina have been targeted by gangs based in the surrounding forests. — NNN-AFRICANEWS
