Former Minister of Environment, Laraba-Mallam, husband, kidnapped

A former Minister of Environment, Mrs. Lawrencia Laraba-Mallam, and her husband, Pius, have been kidnapped on the Abuja–Kaduna Expressway.

They were kidnapped on Monday evening after they ran into a roadblock, mounted by the hoodlums, around Jere, the Punch newspaper reported.

The incident occurred in spite of the drafting of 510 riot policemen on the road by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on August 5, 2016 to check kidnappings and other criminal activities.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers have established contact with the family and demanded a ransom of N10m.

“They (kidnappers) made contact with the family around 10am this morning (Tuesday) and said we must bring N10m before they can release them,” a family source told the newspaper.

The family members refused to talk on the abduction for security reasons.

The Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, Aliyu  Usman, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, confirmed the incident, saying the former minister and her husband  were whisked  away  while the driver was spared.

Usman said the command was doing all it could to ensure that the couple regained their freedom.

Lawrencia was the National President of the Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria before she was appointed a minister by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Punch