BANDITS attacked the Chikakore community in Kubwa, Abuja, on Sunday, January 26, and abducted five residents.
According to Vanguard, police sources said the bandits raided the Health Centre extension area of Chikakore at around 11 pm, abducting a family of four, including one Adesiyan Akinropo, his wife, their son, and a person who visited them. A neighbour to the abducted family was also whisked away.
Reports say a woman was brutally hit with a gun butt during the attack, leading to a severe head injury that left her bleeding profusely, and she had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment.
By the time police operatives from the Byzahin Division arrived at the scene, the bandits had escaped with their hostages.
The FCT Police Command confirmed the incident in a statement through its spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, a superintendent of police.
The ICIR reports that the incident is just one of several recent attacks in the area, including a similar kidnapping in neighbouring Bwari town where police officers were injured.
Kidnapping for ransom in Nigeria, including the FCT, has been a major problem, with kidnappers targeting highways and apartments and even snatching pupils from schools.
In January 2024, the abduction of five young Nigerian sisters in Bwari sparked a national outcry and raised fears about insecurity in the country’s capital.
According to a family member, the sisters were kidnapped by armed men who burst into their home.
The attackers later killed one of the sisters, 21-year-old Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, after they failed to meet the ransom deadline.
The FCT police commissioner, Olatunji Disu, said the command dealt with a significant number of crimes, including 104 kidnappings and 268 armed robberies in the nation’s capital in 2024.
Disu said this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
The CP said 216 kidnapping and 132 armed robbery suspects were arrested during the year.
A reporter with the ICIR
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