Plateau State Government House Deputy Chief of Staff Silas Vem’s wife, Dorcas, has been kidnapped by gunmen.
This is even as gunmen, in a separate operation, also kidnapped a Director in the Plateau State Ministry of Health, Dr. Samuel Audu.
A source from the Plateau State Government House, which related the abduction of Dorcas to Punch, said that “for almost three days now, the whereabouts of the wife of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Dorcas Silas Vem has remained unknown. She is a staff of the University of Jos and her husband is the Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of the Deputy Governor of Plateau state, Professor Sonny Tyoden.”
“Their house is at the Little Rayfield in Jos, very close to the Government House. The woman was just driving to their house when some gunmen accosted her in front of their gate. They forcefully dragged her out of her vehicle and took her away to an unknown destination. The incident happened on Sunday and since then, we have not seen her.”
The news outlet was also told by a worker at the State Ministry of Health, Audu was going home after closing from work when some hoodlums abducted him in the Barkin Ladi community.
The source said “It was just last night (Monday). The Director has a hospital Barkin Ladi LGA. He was in his car driving back to his house in Barkin Ladi after attending to an emergency at his hospital when some people emerged from nowhere and blocked his vehicle at his gate at the Chairman’s quarters.
“He was still calling his wife to open the gate for him when the hoodlums immediately, ordered him into their waiting vehicle and drove away.
“They abandoned the vehicle driven by the director with the doors wide open. We don’t know what is happening in Plateau state with regard to the security of the people because the kidnapping and abductions are just too much. Something needs to be done and quickly too before the situation gets out of hand.”
The abduction of the wife of the Deputy Chief of Staff was confirmed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ubah Ogaba.
He said that efforts were being made to rescue her.
Ogaba, meanwhile, said that police in the state has no knowledge of the health director’s abduction in Barkin Ladi but promised to find out.