The wife and two children of a lawmaker in the Kwara State House of Assembly, Mr Lawal Ayanshola Soliu, have been kidnapped by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
Lawal is the legislator representing the Ipaiye/Malete/Olooru state constituency of Moro Local Government in the state house of assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
According to the information made available to NIGERIACRIME, the abductors whisked their victims away after storming the lawmaker’s house, located in Shao, in the Moro local government area of the state around 1 am.
As of Tuesday evening, the whereabouts of the victims have remained unknown, a source said.
“One of the kidnappers who contacted the family said he was not yet with his colleagues in the forest to harmonise their price,” the source added.
Calls made to the lawmaker via the telephone on Tuesday were not answered.
When contacted, the spokesman for the Kwara State Police Command, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident.
He however said, “Details are still sketchy but I will get back as soon as we have comprehensive details of the incident.”
In another news, the Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned one Michael Anan Onimisi before Justice R.M Aikawa of the Federal High Court, sitting in Kaduna for developing a software code-named: “Bee-Leaf” and “Real-Eve” to defraud First City Monument Bank Plc, the sum of N17,785,010.75.
Onimisi was accused of developing the software to hack into the security measures of the bank to defraud it. He was arraigned on six-count charges bordering on internet fraud and money laundering.
One of the counts reads “that you, Michael Anan Onimisi, sometime in June 2023, in Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did directly retained the total sum of N17, 785,010.75 (Seventeen Million, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand, Ten Naira and Seventy-Five Kobo only), from First City Monument Bank Plc, which funds you knew forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d)of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act”.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to the six-count charges when they were read to him.
Prosecution counsel, N. Salele, asked for a trial date and further prayed the court to remand the defendant at a Correctional Centre before the commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, defence counsel, Rabiu Mohammed informed the court of an application for bail before the court. Salele objected, pleading for more time to study and respond to it
After listening to the arguments of both counsels, Justice Aikawa thereafter adjourned the matter till October 19, 2023, for hearing on the bail application and December 6, 2023, for commencement of trial.
He also ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Kaduna State.