About 20 residents of Dawaki, a community near Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory, were kidnapped on Sunday evening, causing widespread panic among the residents.
The attackers, reportedly numbering around 50, raided houses on Frank Opara Street before security operatives responded to distress calls.
Tunde Abdulrahim, the Chairman of Dawaki Rock Heaven Community, detailed the harrowing incident to newsmen on Monday, saying the armed men broke into about six houses at around 7:30 pm.
“The armed men, numbering about 50, invaded our community and broke into several houses.
It was a terrifying experience for all of us,” Abdulrahim recounted.
In response to the attack, the FCT police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, issued a statement highlighting the swift actions taken by the police.
According to her, the Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, personally led the operation to rescue the kidnapped victims.
“In an immediate and strategic response to a distress call on the attack by unknown gunmen in Dawaki on May 19, 2024, at about 11:30 pm, the operatives of the FCT Police Command, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Igweh, himself, swiftly mobilised to the scene,” Adeh’s statement read.
The police, in collaboration with local hunters, engaged the kidnappers in a fierce gun battle at Ushafa Hill via Bwari and Shishipe Hills via Mpape.
“The hoodlums were overwhelmed by the firepower of the operatives, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet injuries, and the victims were rescued,” Adeh added.
One of the rescued victims is currently receiving medical attention at a hospital.
Meanwhile, search operations are ongoing to rescue other hostages who fled the scene during the shootout.
“The Commissioner of Police, FCT, reaffirms the command’s steadfast dedication to maintaining peace and security in the territory,” Adeh stated.
This incident follows a similar attack, where bandits abducted five people from Shagari Quarters, Dei-Dei, in the FCT on the same day.
The vigilante sources in the community confirmed that the attackers arrived around noon and kidnapped a senior customs officer’s wife, three of his children, and a younger brother.
“They spent more than two hours before proceeding to the neighbouring Dakwa community,” a source revealed.
An attempt to attack houses in Dakwa was thwarted by a fierce exchange of gunfire with security personnel, forcing the bandits to withdraw, according to the Chief of Dakwa, Dr. Alhassan Musa Babachukuri.
Babachukuri lamented that the bandits had established a base behind Zuma Rock in the Chachi community near Dakwa in neighbouring Niger State, which leads to some forests around Bwari.
