No fewer than nine residents have been kidnapped by gunmen at the Grow Homes Estate along Kuchibiyi in the Kubuwa area of the Federal Capital Territory.
The gunmen numbering about 20 were said to have stormed the estate around 11:30 pm on Friday, March 10, 2023.
A resident of the community who identified himself simply as Hassan said that the victims were captured from two separate apartments in the estate.
He added that the incident had caused panic in the community.
He said,” Yesterday, at about 11:30 pm some gunmen in their large numbers came to carry out an operation at Grow homes estate along Kuchibiyi. We heard the sounds of gunshots, there was panic in the entire community as a result of the incident.
“This morning, we went to the estate and we learnt those gunmen were about 20. They moved from one apartment to the other dispossessing their belongings. They also kidnapped at least nine persons including children and women from two apartments in the estate.
“They escaped through the bush which linked the community to Paze village. The police and the estate security have been searching the bush since morning to see if they can rescue the kidnapped residents.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in Abuja, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident.
She added the police and the estate security are combing the bushes in the area to ensure the victims are rescued.
Adeh said, “Upon receipt of the distress call, we immediately deployed our men to the scene. The suspects however abruptly suspended their operations and took some victims with them into the bush.
“Operatives of the Police and the estate security are still combing the bushes in the area to ensure they are rescued unhurt.”
She urged residents of the area not to panic, calling on them to help the police with credible information that could lead to the arrest of the assailants.
“We urge the residents to remain calm and assist with useful information that could lead to the swift arrest of these criminals,” Adeh added.
In a related development, the Zamfara State Police Command has rescued 14 kidnapped victims who have been in bandits’ camp for 68 days.
The spokesperson for the command, SP Mohammed Shehu, said the victims were rescued by the police tactical operatives in conjunction with the vigilante group during a mop-up at Munhaye forest in the Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.
Shehu said, “On March 10, 2023, the Police Tactical Operatives in conjunction with the vigilante, while on a mop-up operation near Munhaye forest, successfully dislodged some bandits’ camp belonging to recalcitrant bandits’ Kingpin called “Dogo Sule”.
“As a result of the operation, 14 hostages, comprising of two male adults, seven female and five children below the age of two years were rescued.”
Shehu maintained that in the course of debriefing, the victims informed the police detectives that, on January 1, 2023, at about 11 o’clock in the night, a large number of suspected bandits armed with sophisticated weapons stormed Anguwar Mangoro and Gidan Maidawa villages in the Gusau Local Government Area and abducted them to their camp where they spent 68 days in captivity.
He said, “The victims who were in sympathetic condition have been taken to the Police clinic in Gusau for medical treatment and thereafter reunited with their families and relations.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, CP Kolo Yusuf, congratulated the victims for regaining their freedom.
The commissioner reassured that the police would remain committed to protecting the lives and properties of the citizens.
