Nine motorcyclists, known as “yan achaba,” that were travelling from Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State to Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital, before they were reported missing, have been found in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
There was tension among parents of the missing youths who were en route to Lafia for their Bike taxi business, before losing contact with family and friends last Saturday.
The Chairman of Kirfi Local Government Council, Abdulkadir Umar Dewu confirmed their release to journalists on Thursday.
He said the youths were arrested by the military task force Operation Safe Haven and detained for four days without any incriminating things found against them.
The chairman said, “We made several efforts at various Police formations in Bauchi, Plateau and Nasarawa States searching for their whereabouts but we were unsuccessful. It was the joint task force that arrested them and put them under severe torture without any justification for four days. If you see how terrified they look, you will sympathize with them”
Dewu added, “What happened to the young men is disheartening, especially the action of the taskforce because we are not happy with the ugly incident. The young men were really terrorized and it’s unfortunate that security agents would conduct themselves in such an unprofessional act on innocent civilians.
“I don’t even know how to describe the action of the task force. I believe it is the efforts of journalists and other people who publicize their story that really helped the situation, if not because of wider publicity, I doubt much about their discovery and subsequent release.”
The Chairman said further that the bikers possessed identification to verify their identities. However, despite this, the joint military task force disregarded their identification, confiscated and switched off their phones, and subsequently arrested and detained them for four days.
