The gunmen who abducted Adamu Zata, a Professor of Soil Science in the Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), have demanded N10 million as a ransom for his release.

The professor was abducted from his house in Girei, Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State, at 2 am on Monday by gunmen who killed his brother, Dr Sheda Zata, while taking the professor away.

A member of the family who spoke Tuesday to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, “They have demanded N10 million, but we are still trying to reduce it. We don’t have anything close to what they are asking.”

The abduction of Professor Adamu Zata on Monday still puzzles many Adamawa residents who remember that he had first been kidnapped a year ago, October 2018.

Unconfirmed reports had it then that the professor was released only after his family paid N2 million.

For the abduction on Monday, the killing of his brother added to the sordid history, especially against the possibility that the brother could have avoided death.

He was said to have been torn between leaving Yola for his rural base on Sunday and staying back till Monday, before he resolved for the latter, only to fail to see the dawn of Monday because the kidnappers cut him down. (The Nation)