At least 15 people were abducted in two separate large instances in the first week of 2024, indicating a worrisome increase in kidnappings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).<\/p>\n
In the initial incident, which occurred around Zuma 1 in the Bwari Area Council, gunmen abducted seven members of the same family. Tragically, during the abduction, one individual identified as Alhaji was shot dead, and two policemen sustained injuries in a confrontation with the kidnappers. The deceased, a relative of the abducted family, rushed to their rescue upon learning of the incident, only to meet a tragic end at the hands of the assailants.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, on the night of January 7, armed men invaded Sagwari Layout Estate in Dutse, also within the Bwari Area Council, abducting nine individuals, including a mother and her four children. The assailants, reportedly dressed in military uniform, later targeted a nearby hotel, kidnapping a receptionist and a barman on duty.<\/p>\n
A survivor of the abduction attempt, identified as John, and a security guard, shared his harrowing experience with Punch newspaper, revealing the invaders’ tactics. “They came here at about 7 pm. I went out to buy something, so as I was about to lock the gate, they pushed it and entered. They tore my clothes and tied me up, before entering the house. Then, they brought out the people and made all of us sit down outside. So, while they were distracted, I managed to escape,” he recounted.<\/p>\n
Eyewitness Wilfred Akikayo disclosed that the armed men, armed with sophisticated weapons, broke into the estate through the back fence and fled through the top of a nearby mountain.<\/p>\n
The surge in kidnapping incidents, despite assurances from FCT authorities, has left residents in a state of fear and apprehension. Despite promises from the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to enhance the territory’s security, the continued rise in criminal activities raises concerns among the populace. Wike emphasized the urgency of addressing the security challenges, emphasizing that the safety of Abuja, as the nation’s capital, is paramount.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 15 people were abducted in two separate large instances in the first week of 2024, indicating a worrisome increase in kidnappings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In the initial incident, which occurred around Zuma 1 in the Bwari Area Council, gunmen abducted seven members of the same family. Tragically, during the abduction, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abuja-reports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14042"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14079,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14042\/revisions\/14079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}