By SHUAIB SADIQ

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Zamfara branch, says it is working to secure the release of the Medical Director of Dansadau General Hospital, who was abducted by bandits on June 25.

Dr. Mannir Bature, the state NMA Chairman, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau on Wednesday.

“The abductors of Dr. Mansur Muhammad the Medical Director, General Hospital Dansadau have demanded N20 million ransom for his release.

“They made contact with his family to demand the sum of N20 million ransoms before they can release him.

“They, however, reduced the amount to N5 million; we are still on it.

“The leadership of the NMA is working with relevant authorities to ensure the safe release of the victim,” he said.

NAN reports that Muhammad was abducted at Mashaya village along Dansadau-Magami road while returning from Gusau.

Bature said that the bandits had been targeting the victim for a while until last Saturday when they succeeded in abducting him to an unknown location.

He recalled that the bandits had sometime in 2021 attacked Dansadau General Hospital and abducted two health workers, when they did not find the medical director.

The NMA chairman advised security agencies in the state to coordinate their activities and take the fight to the bandits.

“The security forces and other relevant stakeholders must form a formidable synergy to win the fight against the bandits and eliminate the menace of banditry in Zamfara and other parts of the region.

“The three tiers of government must come up with strategies to nip the security challenges in the bud,” he added.

According to him, the resurgence of kidnapping, cattle rustling, and other criminality in Zamfara was because the security forces abandoned strategic locations and hot spots they had earlier occupied. (NAN)