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An American woman on missionary work in Kogi State has reportedly been kidnapped by masked gunmen.
Reports say the gunmen invaded and abducted her from the premises of a school in Emiworo village where the woman ran a community organisation with the Free Methodist Church.
According to Kogi police spokesman, Sola Collins Adebayo, “She was whisked away at around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) on Monday”.
Adebayo told AFP that 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”
“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 said: “The U.S. Embassy has been notified, and the State Department and the FBI are working with local authorities to find and rescue her”.