Armed bandits have struck Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory in an overnight raid that has left residents of Kubwa terrified and demanding urgent government intervention.
Suspected bandits attacked Peze community in the Byazhi area of Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the FCT, abducting at least 16 residents during the raid which occurred on Tuesday night between 9:30pm and 10pm. The attackers moved systematically from house to house, threatening to kill anyone who refused to open their doors.
The details emerging from the community are deeply disturbing. One resident revealed that the gunmen had initially gathered inside an uncompleted building directly opposite his house before launching the attack.
“They actually came to my house on Tuesday. One of my neighbours was watching them from the window. They had gathered in an uncompleted building opposite my house, so they didn’t know someone was observing them. They started banging on my door and moving around the house, shouting to see if anyone would react. The way they operate is that once you respond, they break the window to gain entry,” he said.
When the gunmen failed to gain entry into his home they moved on and what followed was harrowing. Among the 16 victims taken were four children belonging to a local pastor who had briefly stepped out of his home. By the time he was alerted and rushed back, his children were already gone, only the youngest was left behind. The wife of a local vigilante commander and her younger sister, who had been visiting for just three days, were also abducted.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking detail to emerge is that of a new mother taken from her home. One of the abducted women had given birth less than 40 days before the attack. The kidnappers left her newborn baby behind when they took her. Residents also revealed that the gunmen ate food she had been cooking before dragging her away.
The vigilante commander whose wife was taken narrowly escaped with his life. He had just left his house around 10pm when a neighbour alerted him that armed men had entered the area. Unaware that his own home had already been surrounded, he rushed toward the location mentioned only to be blocked on the road and fired upon by the attackers.
Sahara Reporters noted that Security operatives arrived after the attackers had already fled with their victims. The kidnappers subsequently contacted families of the victims and demanded ransom for their release.
But the story does not end there. Two days after Tuesday’s attack, suspected kidnappers struck again in the same Byazhin-Across area around Orange Farm, where several more houses were entered and additional residents abducted.
During that second attack a local vigilante officer identified only as Sylvester was shot dead the latest life claimed in what residents describe as a rapidly escalating crisis.
Residents revealed that the community has experienced several kidnapping incidents in recent weeks, with a similar abduction occurring on January 4 that prompted locals to begin organising vigilante patrols. Those patrols have clearly not been enough.
Community members are now calling on the FCT Administration and security agencies to urgently deploy more personnel and take decisive action to address what they describe as a growing and emboldened kidnapping network operating within the nation’s capital