According to the Kebbi State Police Command, Alhaji Muhammad Maibarga, an Islamic cleric kidnapped in the Koko-Besse Local Government Area, has passed away while in captivity.
According to SP Bashir Usman, the police public relations officer (PPRO), the command was informed of rumours that the preacher had died while in the captivity of his murderers.
While in captivity, the victim’s condition reportedly worsened, and he may have died, he added.
Usman further stated that investigations into the abductions of individuals in the Koko-Besse and Wasagu LGAs were continuing in an attempt to confirm the news and obtain their release.
The kidnapping was not made public at the time, but the police acknowledged it after journalists asked about it.
In Koko-Besse Local Government Area, Maibarga and a former All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman were abducted, according to an earlier story in.
Two men in their 80s and 90s pleaded for aid from behind bars in a video that went viral, detailing their worsening health problems.
The video shows the former APC chairman claiming that the two men, despite their ages and health problems, were made to walk lengthy distances through the woods.
Residents and social media users alike expressed deep concern after seeing the video, which showed the prisoners pleading with loved ones, local leaders, and government officials to step up their attempts to get them released.
Eventually, while in custody, Maibarga reportedly died of his sickness.
Since his body has not been found, the people of his community have been doing Salatul Gha’ib (funeral prayer in absentia) in memory of the cleric.