Troops overpower bandits near Kaduna airport

Gunmen on Sunday morning made a second attempt to abduct people at the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) quarters in Kaduna State.

Daily Trust reports that 12 people were abducted when bandits breached the security of the quarters, which is located before the Kaduna airport, around 2am last Saturday.

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Among those abducted last week were an official of the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency (NAMA) and his family as well as the wife and kids of a staff member of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET).

The gunmen, who returned to the quarters on Sunday, met a stiff resistance from a combined team of the Nigerian Air Force and Nigerian Army.

A FAAN official, who asked not to be named, said the gunmen came through a different route.

“They did not come through the airport side; this time around, they came through another side of the quarters but security agents were prepared for them.”

A resident of the senior staff quarters said the gunmen had targeted one of the houses in the premises but security agents overpowered them.

The incident happened two days after 39 students were abducted from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, Igabi local government area of the state.

The gunmen were reportedly heading to a secondary school but when they learnt that security had been beefed up at their target location, they invaded the school.

In a video which was released via Facebook on Friday night, the kidnappers demanded a N500 million for the release of the victims.