TENSION gripped residents of Kuchibuyi village in the Byazhin area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after gunmen stormed Grow Homes Estate in the early hours of Monday, May 16, and abducted two people in a daring attack.
The FCT Police Command, in a statement by its spokesperson Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident, stating that the attackers gained access to the estate by breaching the rear perimeter fence.
Adeh noted that a distress call was received around 1:00 a.m. from police officers stationed in front of the estate, adding that while responding to the incident, officers engaged the attackers in a gun battle that lasted approximately 40 minutes.
She further stated that one of the abducted victims, identified as Chinyere Joe, was rescued during the shootout, while the second victim was taken away by the fleeing assailants.
“Upon swift deployment to the scene, it was discovered that the armed attackers had breached the estate through the rear perimeter fence and forcefully abducted two victims.
“The responding police officers exchanged gunfire with the attackers for about 40 minutes and rescued one of the victims, identified as Chinyere Joe. Unfortunately, the attackers escaped with the second victim,” the statement added.
The police anti-kidnapping unit, in collaboration with the Army and other security agencies, has launched an intensive operation to track down the perpetrators and rescue the remaining abducted victim.
The police urged residents to remain vigilant and cooperate with law enforcement officers by reporting any suspicious activity.
The attack on Grow Homes Estate in the Byazhin area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is not an isolated incident as it highlights a disturbing pattern of insecurity that has increasingly plagued Nigeria’s capital and its surrounding areas in recent years.
For instance, in February 2025, The FCT Police Command rescued a 25-year-old lady, Promise Eze, from a suspected ritualist and armed robber at a hotel in the Wuse area of Abuja.
According to the statement, Promise Eze, from Ebonyi State, was found on Friday, January 31, tied to a chair, and her mouth sealed with plaster.
“She was found unconscious and in distress. Officers acted immediately, freeing her from captivity and rushing her to Wuse District Hospital, where she was resuscitated,” the police said.
A similar incident occurred in a hotel in the Wuse area of Abuja in 2024, where a man was apprehended for allegedly attempting to kill a lady for ritual purposes.
The man had reportedly tied the lady’s hands and legs but was caught and forced to loosen her.
He was eventually arrested by officers of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and handed to the FCT police who paraded and charged him in court.
Earlier in January this year, The ICIR reported how Eliojo Salomey, a 24-year-old serving National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) member based in Mararaba, a fast-growing community near Abuja, was allegedly butchered by her boyfriend, a gospel singer, Timileyin Ajayi.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M