Bandits storm Abuja community, abduct pastor’s children, vigilante commander’s wife, others

Suspected bandits have abducted no fewer than 16 residents during an attack on Peze community in the Byazhi area of Kubwa, located within the Bwari Area Council of Abuja.

According to reports from the community, the attackers stormed the area during the raid and whisked away several residents, causing panic among locals.

Among those kidnapped were the wife of a local vigilante commander, her younger sister, and four children belonging to a pastor in the community.

According to a report by Sahara Reporters, residents said that the armed men stormed the area on Tuesday night between about 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., moving from one house to another and attempting to break into homes.

One resident said the attackers had first gathered inside an uncompleted building opposite his residence before carrying out the attack.

“They actually came to my house on Tuesday. One of my neighbours was watching them from the window. They had gathered in an uncompleted building opposite my house, so they didn’t know someone was observing them,” the resident said.

“They started banging on my door and moving around the house, shouting to see if anyone would react. The way they operate is that once you respond, they break the window to gain entry.”

According to the resident, the gunmen also threatened to kill occupants who refused to open their doors.

“They will tell you that if you don’t open the door, they will break in through the window and kill everyone inside,” he said.

The source explained that when the assailants failed to gain entry into his house, they moved to neighbouring buildings where they eventually abducted several people.

“In total, they kidnapped 16 people,” he added.

Four of the victims were children belonging to a pastor in the community. The resident said the pastor was not at home when the attackers struck.

“When I later went to the pastor’s house, he told me he had stepped out briefly. Before he could return, people started informing him that kidnappers were operating in the area. When he rushed back home, he discovered that four of his children had been taken, leaving only the youngest child behind,” the source said.

The attack also affected the family of a vigilante commander who had been helping residents resist kidnappers in the area.

According to the source, the commander had stepped out of his home at about 10 p.m. when a neighbour alerted him that gunmen had invaded the community.

“He had just left his house when his neighbour called him and said the attackers had entered one of the houses nearby,” the resident said.

He explained that the commander immediately rushed to the location mentioned by the neighbour, unaware that the attackers had already surrounded his own house.

“He ran to the place they mentioned, not knowing they had already surrounded his house,” the source said.

Residents said the gunmen later blocked the vigilante commander on the road when he tried to return home and opened fire.

The attackers subsequently stormed his residence and abducted his wife along with her younger sister, who had reportedly visited the family three days earlier.

According to residents, the woman had given birth less than 40 days earlier, and the kidnappers left the newborn baby behind.

“They even ate the food she had been cooking before abducting her,” the source added.

Security operatives were later said to have arrived in the community after the attackers had fled with their victims.

The source also revealed that the kidnappers later contacted the victims’ families and demanded ransom for their release.

Residents said the community had witnessed several kidnapping incidents in recent weeks, including another abduction on January 4 that led locals to organise vigilante patrols.

They are now urging security agencies and the Federal Capital Territory authorities to urgently deploy additional personnel and take decisive action to curb the rising cases of kidnapping in the area.

As of the time of filing this report, attempts to reach SP Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, were unsuccessful.

(SAHARA REPORTERS)