Bandits gun down groom, abduct pregnant bride in Kaduna

Bandits have killed a newlywed groom and abducted his pregnant wife in Jere town, Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The bandits also abducted four members of the family of a former commissioner of Poverty Alleviation in Kaduna State, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Jere.

• How insecurity is forcing Kaduna farmers to the roadside
• Bandits gun down PDP delegates in Niger

Daily Trust gathered that over 50 bandits invaded Jere, a community along the dreaded Abuja-Kaduna highway, on motorcycles. They were said to have moved from house-to-house but residents said it appeared they had targeted the home of a former Commissioner, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Jere who was out of town at the time.

They, however, abducted his wife, a baby girl, his younger sister and his wife’s sister.

Hassan Adamu Jere, a resident of the community, said the bandits also attacked the home of a newly wedded couple and attempted to abduct the bride but the groom had resisted.

He said while dragging his bride with the bandits, they shot him dead.

Hassan said there was tension in the community as youths expressed anger that despite the combined security presence of soldiers, divisional police office and area command, security agents failed to tackle the bandits who operated for over three hours.

“We made several calls to the various security agencies on ground and they all ignored us. This is the second major attack on our community in the last three months and we feel that the security agents stationed here are of no use to us,” Adamu Jere, an angry youth, said.

Ibrahim Salisu, another resident, said the community would lodge a formal protest against security agents in Jere, adding that their action portrays them as people who “are either colluding with the bandits or people who do not care about the security of the people.”

He said hours after the bandits had escaped, security agents made efforts to trail them and later informed the community that they had successfully killed two of the bandits.

Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige, did not respond to inquiries about the attack as at the time of filing this report.