· Demand N35m ransom in new notes
The wife of the chief of Bukpe in Kwali area council of the Federal Capital Territory and 7 seven others were kidnapped weekend by over a dozen bandits wielding sophisticated weapons, The Abuja Inquirer has learnt.
A villager, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals by the terrorists, told our correspondent that they struck at about 12:10am on Friday, February 3 while shooting wildly.
Amongst those kidnapped are the wife of the chief, his son, and six others. The names of those taken away are: Hamisu Hassan, SadiyaHassan, Usama H. Yakub, Adamawye David, Asabe Matthew, Chebawaza Idris, Hadiza Idris and a student, whose identity was not given.
According to the villager, the abductors have made contact demanding N35m in new notes.
“I am utterly devastated. Not long ago they kidnaped my elder brother, Chief Hassan Gimba Shamdozhin, and here we are again. They even burgled my room in the village while I was in my base here in Kwali,” the distraught villager said.
The new FCT police commissioner, Mr. Sadiq Abubakar, while assuming office last month read the riot act to criminals and kidnappers to relocate as he intends to confront them headlong.
Efforts to get the reaction of the FCT police command were unsuccessful as calls and messages to ASP Josephine Adeh, the command’s spokesperson were not responded to.
However, it seems that the warning was unheeded going by the rising crime rate in the territory.
In January, a newspaper documented that over 69 persons were killed and 194 abducted in 194 attacks carried out by bandits and other criminals in the Federal Capital Territory in 2022.
Though the police disputed the statistics, they failed to provide what the “correct figure” was.
The latest abduction, which is rife in Kuje and Kwali area councils, brings a fearful spectre of how the decomposed bodies of the two abducted wives and five children of the Chief of Mutumbiyu Justices Chiefdom in Taraba State, Justice Sani Muhammed (retd), were found.
The decomposed bodies were found on Saturday and have since being buried at Mutumbiyu.
He explained, “The bodies of the members of my family killed by the kidnappers were found and will be brought to Mutumbiyu for burial.”
