Gunmen, believed to be bandits, have kidnapped two teenage sisters in Guita community, Chikakore, Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The incident occurred despite the presence of military personnel and police in the area. The gunmen took advantage of the challenging security situation.
The abduction happened just eight days after residents of Chikakore protested at the office of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. They expressed their concerns about the deteriorating state of the major road leading to their community, which they believed contributed to the frequent cases of kidnapping.
According to sources, six gunmen forcefully entered a house and kidnapped three children—two girls aged 16 and 14, and one boy. The boy was later released with a message for the children’s father, demanding a ransom of N30 million.
Upon receiving the report, the police started investigating, but the gunmen had already fled into the nearby forests and hills.
A police source in the area confirmed the kidnapping to SaharaReporters on Wednesday and stated that the gunmen had changed their tactics, opting to enter the house instead of shooting.
“While they were forcing themselves inside, the owner of the house (a Calabar man) ran to the vigilante’s office, then, he ran to the commander’s house before the commander could call another person, and rush to his house, the gunmen were already gone.
“It was when they were going, they started shooting, unlike before that they would shoot before the operation and till the end.
“They took three of his children, two girls, and one boy, but they went away with two and sent back one (the boy) from the bush that he should go and tell their father to prepare 30 million naira for their ransom.
“When they were taken, the two girls (16 and 14 years) one of the girls was wearing nightgown, the mother tried to plead with the gunmen to let her wear something for the cold, but instead they beat up the mother. She had no option than to just let the girls go the way they were under the cold.
“Before the police came to the scene, they were already gone. Some of the vigilante later traced them to the railway line, to the rocks but there was no trace anymore.
“The man that his daughters were kidnapped is a front liner security payment and he has made some several donations to the community.”
