Bandits have shot dead two people and abducted seven bakery workers and four tenants at Unguwar Kwanan Pete in Jere town of Kaduna State.
City & Crime reports that Jere, which is located along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, is about 15 kilometres from Kagarko town in the area.
A resident of Jere, Hamisu Yahaya, who confirmed the incident while speaking with our reporter by telephone on Sunday, said it happened last Tuesday around 9:40pm.
He gave the names of those killed by the bandits as Mai Angwa Alhaji Aliyu and Akilu, a commercial cyclist.
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He said the bandits, who came in their numbers, wielding weapons, invaded Albarka Bakery and whisked away seven workers, adding that they proceeded to a house behind the bakery and abducted four people.
According to him, the late Alhaji Aliyu, who heard some unusual sounds came out from his house to find out what was happening and one of the bandits shot him.
He said the other deceased person, who is a commercial cyclist, was on his bike coming towards them and they opened fire on him and killed him on the spot.
Yahaya said the bandits operated for almost an hour without the presence of security agents.
“They operated for almost one hour but neither police nor soldiers responded to distress calls despite the sporadic gunshots that rented the air all over Jere town that Tuesday night.
“The police area commander’s office and that of the police divisional headquarters are just a half kilometer away from the scene of the attack, yet they didn’t respond to distress call,” he added.
No official response from the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command over the latest kidnap incident as at the time of filling this report.
However, the secretary of Jere Emirate Council, Alhaji Aliyu Zubairu, confirmed the abduction of 11 residents and killing of two others by bandits in the area.
He said, “We couldn’t sleep last week Tuesday night because of the gunshots that rented the air as residents were terrified. Up till this moment that I am talking with you, contact is yet to be established with the bandits.”