Bandits break into houses, kidnap 20 residents in FCT’s Dawaki

In a new wave of kidnappings in the Federal Capital Territory, no fewer than 20 residents of Dawaki, a community near Kubwa, have been abducted.

Before security personnel responded to distress calls, the kidnappers reportedly raided houses on Frank Opara Street in the community.

The Chairman of Dawaki Rock Heaven Community, Mr. Tunde Abdulrahim, said in a statement on Monday that the incident happened at 7.30 p.m. on Sunday.

Abdulrahim said the armed men, numbering about 50, invaded the community and broke into about six houses.

In response to the incident, SP Josephine Adeh, the spokesperson for the FCT police command, said Police Commissioner Benneth Igweh immediately led policemen to the scene and engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle.

“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 p.m., the operatives of the FCT Police Command, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Igweh, himself, swiftly mobilized to the scene.

“Displaying remarkable bravery and coordination, the police, in synergy with local hunters, advanced on the assailants, tactically ambushing them at Ushafa Hill via Bwari and Shishipe Hills via Mpape.

“This led to a fierce gun duel as 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.

“While one of the rescued victims is still in the hospital receiving medical attention, the Commissioner of Police, FCT, reaffirms the command’s steadfast dedication to maintaining peace and security in the territory, as search operations are ongoing to rescue other hostages who fled the scene during the shootout,” she said in a statement.

Vigilante sources in the community confirmed that the attackers arrived in the area around noon and went straight to the compound of a senior customs officer, where they picked up his wife, three of his children, and a younger brother.

“They spent more than two hours before proceeding to the neighbouring Dakwa community. The man used to work in Abuja with the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS), always parking around his house.

“They are no longer around following his deployment to Lagos, though his family is still living in the compound,” a resident said.

The traditional ruler of the community claimed that the bandits had created a base behind Zuma Rock in the Chachi community near Dakawa in neighbouring Niger State that leads to forests around Bwari.