A Syrian engineer who was abducted last week by unknown gunmen in Sokoto state in northern Nigeria has been released, the police said on Wednesday.

Abdul Nasir was kidnapped on May 16 on his way to a road construction site outside the state capital of Sokoto city by armed men who killed three policemen that tried to rescue him.

“Abdul Nasir was released on Tuesday at about 12:30 am (1130 GMT) by his abductors,” said Sokoto state police spokeswoman Cordelia Nwawe.

The Catholic Church in Nigeria Tuesday, organised a nationwide prayer and peaceful protest against incessant killings and attacks in some region of the country.

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, in a telephone interview with Channels Television on Tuesday said the protest is in line with the directive from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria.

The Archbishop said members are urged to partake in the exercise in supplication to God.

The Nigerian Army on Monday received cache of support arms from the Czech Republic to bolster its counter insurgency operations in the North East, as well as other operations in troubled spots across the country. It would be recalled that five days ago, the army took delivery of different calibre of ammunition and spare parts, including rockets and projectile to boost the war against terrorism and other forms criminality in the country.

The former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for a greater participation of private security providers to effectively tackle the security threats facing the country. The elder statesman also called for effective monitoring and control of the activities of the private security providers.

The Nigerian Army on Thursday took delivery of different calibres of ammunition to boost the fight against terrorism and other forms of criminality across the country. The consignment was received by Olufemi Akinjobi, the Chairman of the Ammunition Reception Committee at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

Officers of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have returned to seaports and land borders to control importation of unregulated products.

The agency is collaborating with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) and with the active support of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), and Ministry of Transport.

According to the agency, this is to effectively control importation of unregulated products, falsified and substandard drugs, unwholesome foods, narcotic drugs and hazardous chemical substances and foods into the country.