Again, heavily armed terrorists invade estate in FCT, kidnap 10 residents
A group of kidnappers have yet again launched an attack on Sagwari Layout Estate in Dutse, a neighbourhood of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari Area Council.
Reports indicate that the assailants abducted eight residents from the estate and further targeted two employees of a nearby hotel.
Eyewitnesses recounted the harrowing experience and said the armed kidnappers forcibly whisked their victims to the hilly terrain behind the estate.
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Attempts by security personnel and the estate’s security team to pursue the kidnappers were met with fierce resistance, as the assailants possessed superior weaponry and held strategic positions at the top of the hills.
In response to the heightened security concerns, the FCT Police Command had recently assured the safety of Abuja residents, particularly those residing in Ushafa, Bwari, and surrounding areas, by deploying additional police personnel to thwart potential security threats.
Just a short distance from the impacted estate, in Ushafa, the FCT Police Commissioner, CP Haruna Garba, had conducted a review of the security situation in Bwari last Wednesday after reports of kidnapping incidents.
The command also cautioned against the spread of unverified information to prevent unnecessary panic among the residents.
This alarming development bears resemblance to a similar incident on December 24, when bandits stormed Garam community, located just five minutes drive from Bwari in the FCT, resulting in the tragic killing of a pastor from the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the abduction of 13 others.
Recently, gunmen abducted Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar along with his six children in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory and are demanding the sum of N60 million ransom for their release.
The victims were forcibly taken on Tuesday night, and tragically during the attack, Alhaji Abdulfatai, who bravely attempted to foil their abduction, was shot dead by the bandits.
Three police officers who sustained injuries during a fierce firefight with the terrorists have reportedly succumbed to their wounds.