UNIDENTIFIED gunmen have abducted 13 residents of Gaube community in the Kuje Area Council of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to a report, a resident of the area, Saidu Yahaya, said three women and two children were among those abducted by the gunmen during an attack on the community on Wednesday, April 19.
“The most pathetic thing is that a man called Shuaibu, who just returned from a condolence of one of his relatives that was killed by kidnappers at Kasada village, was also kidnapped with his two children,” he said.
Yahaya also disclosed that the gunmen had demanded a N10 million ransom for the release of a pregnant woman who was abducted in a separate attack earlier in the week.
He said the woman’s husband was killed by the gunmen while she, along with five others, were abducted.
The ICIR sought the reaction of the FCT Police Command on the incident.
However, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Command Josephine Adeh did not respond to calls at the time of filing this report.
Kuje, one of the satellite areas in the FCT, is notorious for kidnapping activities, as several cases of abduction have been recorded in the area council.
In February, gunmen attacked Munu community in Kuje, killing two people and abducting many others.
Also, in April 2022, gunmen invaded Shadadi community in the area council and abducted four family members.
Other parts of the FCT, including Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and Bwari Area Council, have also recorded cases of abduction in recent times.
Recently, gunmen attacked Grow Homes Estate in Kubwa, in the Bwari Area Council. The ICIR reported that about 20 armed men stormed the estate on March 10, and whisked at least nine persons away to an unknown destination after ransacking several houses.
Findings by The ICIR show that 69 persons were abducted in the FCT over a period of 11 months in 2021.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.