Gunmen kidnap US woman in Kogi

Masked gunmen in Kogi State kidnapped an American woman doing missionary work, police told AFP on Tuesday.

“She was whisked away at around 10:00a.m (0900 GMT) Monday,” said Kogi State police spokesman, Sola Collins Adebayo.

He said the attack took place in the Emiworo village where the missionary from the Free Methodist Church ran a community organisation within the premises of a school linked to her church.

The kidnappers were “unknown gunmen…(who) came into the school premises shooting sporadically to scare away people before taking (the hostage) away into the bush”, Adebayo said.

“We are hopeful of finding her. Our suspicion is that she was picked up for ransom,” the police spokesman said, identifying the hostage as between 65 and 70 years old.

A statement on the Free Methodist Church’s website contained similar details.

“The U.S. Embassy has been notified, and the State Department and the FBI are working with local authorities to find and rescue her,” the statement attributed to Bishop David Kendall said.