Air Vice Marshal Smith, Fmr. IGP’s Cousin, Abducted In Lagos

By Uche Mbah and  Akinwale Kasali

The abduction couldn’t have been more high profile than it is. A retired Airforce Vice Marshal, and cousin to a former Inspector General of Police, and the current Chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC.

But the above did not discourage his abductors.

Retired Air Vice Marshal Sikiru Smith, cousin to  former Inspector General of Police and the Current Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Musiliu Smith has been abducted by gunmen.

The two-star General was abducted while supervising ongoing work on his site in Ajah, Lagos.

The masked gunmen shot sporadically as soon as they invaded the site, sending fears into the spine of everyone on site.

The Retired General who is also the Chairman of Double Wealth Ventures Limited – a dredging and engineering firm – was said to have been whisked away in a waiting speedboat and sped away.

His driver, Corporal Odiji, revealed that his boss engaged in a struggle with the gunmen before he was subdued.

In a Save Our Soul Appeal to the Lagos State Police Command, the Nigeria Airforce and the Nigeria Navy, Odiji pleaded for the rescue of his principal.

Odiji stated, “This is an emergency. I am Corporal Odiji attached to Air Vice Marshal Smith. They just abducted him from the site where we were working. Some gunmen who were wearing masks just came and snatched my boss now. They shot everywhere. I was near where I was fixing my boss’ vehicle.

“As I was coming, I saw them leaving in a boat but I wasn’t armed so I just ran to the site and I saw his glasses and where he struggled with them. Please pass this information. It is an emergency.”

The Spokesman for the Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, and the spokesman for the  Lagos State Police, Adekunle Ajisebutu are yet to comment on this development.

It would be recalled that Smith recently advocated for the drones in security surveillance and military offensive in the country to curb the spate of insecurity in the nation, instead of the use of Military jets.

The veteran retired Naval Officer was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force as a Pilot Officer in 1979, and was a successful military officer who combined soldering with serious academic pursuit.

He was a scholar to the core bagging his BSc, MSc, MBA and PhD degrees, and was an Alumnus of Harvard University and fellow of many professional bodies including the Institute of Management, Nigeria.

A versatile Force man who was opportuned to attend several military courses both locally and overseas which include flying and engineering, he was awarded numerous military decorations such as Distinguished Service Star, Pass Staff College (Dagger) and Fellow of the prestigious National Defence College.