Two seven-year-old twins have been kidnapped in Brikama Jiddah, prompting the Gambian police to launch a swift manhunt for their kidnappers.

The twins, a boy and a girl, were reportedly abducted while on their way to school.

“This morning, while my sister was taking the children to school, a taxi with four people inside (two men, two women, plus the driver) stopped, and they forcefully took the children from her. One of them was wearing a mask,” a widely shared statement about the kidnapping incident stated.

In response, the Gambia Police Force is investigating the alleged abduction.

The parents of the abducted twins are reported to have divorced.

The police suspect that the father of the twins, Cherno Korika Jallow (whose name appears as Muhammed Jallow on official documents), “may have forcefully taken the children with the intention of removing them from the country”.

Jallow, who is believe to be residing in Dakar, Senegal, was allegedly seen taking the children away in a commercial vehicle.

By Adama Makasuba