By Sarah NEGEDU
The wife of a local vigilante commander and four children belonging to a pastor, were among persons abducted by gunmen who raided Peze community, in the Byazhi area of Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
Residents said the attack occurred on Tuesday night between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., when the heavily armed men moved from house to house attempting to force their way into homes before abducting several people.
In all, at least 16 residents were reportedly taken during the raid, including the vigilante commander’s wife, her younger sister and the pastor’s children.
A resident said the attackers had assembled in an uncompleted building opposite his house before launching the operation.
“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.
“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 him, the gunmen threatened to kill anyone who refused to open the door.
“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 resident said the attackers moved to other houses after failing to gain entry into his home, 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 who was said to have stepped out briefly before the attack.
“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 the community to resist kidnappers.
Residents said the commander had just left his house around 10 p.m. when a neighbour alerted him that armed men had invaded the area.
“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 ran to the place they mentioned, not knowing they had already surrounded his house.”
According to the resident, the gunmen later blocked the vigilante commander on the road when he attempted to return home and opened fire before storming his residence.
The attackers abducted his wife and her younger sister, who had reportedly visited the family three days earlier.
Residents said 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 said to have arrived after the attack, but the gunmen had already escaped with their victims.
Residents said the kidnappers later contacted families of the abducted victims and demanded ransom for their release.
The FCT Police Command is yet to release an official statement on the attack.
