Residents of Sagwari Layout Estate Dutse, Abuja, have continued to live in fear following the killing of two of the abducted ten persons from the area.
This has brought to three the number of victims killed among the abductees from the estate.
One of the victims, said to be the eldest, was killed Sunday, a development that has continued to generate concerns among Abuja residents on the safety of their lives.
The armed kidnappers had on January 7, 2024, invaded the Sagwari Layout Estate during which they abducted not less than 10 persons.
Also, some gunmen stormed Chukuku community in Kuje Area Council of the FCT, killing one person said to be the head of the family in the early hours of Sunday.
Blueprint had reported the killing of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, one of the six girls kidnapped in Bwari, Bwari Area Council of the FCT.
The late Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria student was reportedly killed as the family could not raise the N60 million ransom the criminals demanded.
Though the family may have raised the N60 million ransom placed on the victims’ heads, it was not clear if they had been able to reach out to the abductors.
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Ali Ibrahim Pantami, had Sunday, said he had facilitated N50 million from a friend to save the lives of the surviving Al-Kadriyar girls still in captivity.
Sagwari Estate
And in the early hours of Monday, our findings revealed the terrorists had killed two of the victims over delayed payment of ransom by their relatives.
Worst still, the assailants, according to sources, had also increased their demand from the initial N60 million per head to N100 million, bringing the total sum they are demanding to N700 million.
The kidnappers, according to a source, said that remains the only condition for their (victims’) freedom.
…Kuje attack
Similarly, armed men suspected to be kidnappers stormed Chukuku community in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja have killed one person.
The armed men stormed the community in their large numbers, shooting sporadically while the operation lasted for several hours.
One of our correspondents reports that the incident had caused apprehension in the community.
“The gunmen came in their large numbers and attacked several residents in the village before killing the man leaving his wife and the child in Chukuku, along Old Chukuku road.
“The armed men came in the night around 4.am hours of the day and operated for hours and shot sporadically to the air throughout their operation.
“The incident has created fear in residents of the area,” said a resident who spoke under anonymity.
When contacted, spokesman of the FCT Police Command, DSP Josephine Adeh, promised to find out what the situation was and call back.
But, she was yet to get back as at the time of report, as calls put to her line were not answered.
‘Wike not properly briefed’
Meanwhile, Commissioner for Public Complaints Commission (PCC) representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon Ezekiel Musa Dalhatu, has said FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, was yet to be properly briefed on the high-level of insecurity in the nation’s capital.
Speaking to journalists Monday in Abuja, Dalhatu said insecurity had risen to an all-time high, saying what appears to be like communal clashes amongst remote communities had degenerated into full business by miscreants.
He said the commission under his office, had received an avalanche of complaints from both individuals and groups, including Abuja Original Inhabitants Youths Empowerment Organisation, over incessant cases of killings and abduction by bandits.
He said the increasing spate of kidnapping in the FCT was threatening the peace and businesses across the territory.
Dalhatu said residents in Abaji, Kwali, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Bwari area councils in Abuja south were living in fear due to incessant cases of banditry and kidnapping.
Putting a figure to it, he said some 176 people were reportedly abducted by bandits across Kuje, Kwali and Bwari area councils of the FCT in the last two months.
He called on the armed forces to change their tactics to tackle the menace, saying the hoodlums were already in the know of the security strategies in place.
Dalhatu said: “Though, we recognise the effort of our security agencies to cut across all levels for the commitment and show of force, we also admit the operational inadequacies these agencies are faced with, ranging from manpower, equipment and irregular payments to operational allowances.”
While calling on Wike to declare a state of emergency in security in the FCT, the PCC boss called for equipping of the local vigilantes across the six area councils.
This, he said, remains the best way to engage young youths in rural communities willing to sacrifice their lives to defend their people, through participating in local vigilante.
Zamfara
In a related development, about 36 women in the Magizawa community of Kaura Namoda local government area of Zamfara state were abducted by bandits Sunday night.
A local vigilante source claimed the combined team of vigilantes and a couple of security personnel, could not contain the onslaught of the invading bandits, who killed 3, including a vigilante leader and wounded 2 others.
Spokesperson of the state Police command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, told journalists he was yet to get details of the incident.
But, a member of the vigilante group who survived the attack, said the hoodlums took them unawares, as they moved from house to house and forced the locals, majority of who were women, to follow them into the bush.
The vigilante, who begged not to be named, said: “They abducted about 50, 36 were women. We tried to fight them but they took us unaware and got mixed up with members of the community. In the process, they killed one of our bravest members and 2 others, they also injured 2 others. They broke into houses that were locked and abducted locals. They also held others roaming in the village at night.”
