Youth Corp Members Regain Freedom 24Hrs After Being Held Hostage

No fewer than 50 youth corps members that worked as Independent National Electoral Commission ad hoc staff  were held hostage by some villagers in Assakio, Adogi and Shige area of Lafia Local Government, Nasarawa on Saturday. It was gathered that they have been released on Sunday.

Spokesman for the group, Mr. Adamu Anzalu, told our correspondent in Lafia that the corps members and INEC officials were abandoned along Ashige in Shendam Road close to Assakio where they were held hostage.

According to him, they were held hostage because the collation and returning officers absconded and the villagers insisted on seeing the INEC officials before they were released.

Anzalu said, “I had to convince the villagers that the results would not be altered before we were released 24 hours after.

“It was after that the people released us and we called the security operatives who picked us on our way out of the village.”

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr. Abdullahi Nanyaya, confirmed the incident.