Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted three persons and shot a pregnant woman in Kwaita, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
At least over 30 people have been kidnapped in the territory in the past one month.
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Bustle, hustle inside the famous Wukari Yam Market
A resident, who preferred anonymity, said the abductors invaded the community at 11:00 pm and bundled the victims away from their homes.
He said the gunmen shot sporadically in the air to scare off neighbours before they whisked away the victims.
According to the source, the pregnant woman, whose husband was abducted alongside two others, was hit by a stray bullet on her hand.
“In fact, the entire community was thrown into panic because of the sporadic gunshots by the gunmen. And they wanted to take the woman along, but when they discovered that she sustained bullet wounds and she was pregnant, they spared her,” he said.
The source added that the pregnant woman has been taken to an undisclosed hospital in Gwagwalada for treatment.
The spokesperson of the FCT police command, ASP Maryam Yusuf, in her reply to a text message sent to her phone, said the police rescued one kidnap victim in Kwaita village along Kwali axis after a fierce gun battle with suspected kidnappers.
She said it was in the process of repelling the abductors that a police officer sustained gunshot injuries, adding that efforts were being made to apprehend the abductors and rescue two other victims.
“The injured police officer is currently responding to treatment,” she said.
In a related development, unknown gunmen have killed one person and abducted one Hajiya Asabe Jibrin, mother of a businessman in Rurum town of Rano Local Government Area in Kano State.
An eye witness told newsmen that the gunmen stormed the town around 1: am on Tuesday and started shooting at people thereby killing one person and injuring two others.
He said they later abducted two persons, Alhaji Jibrin and Hajiya Asabe Jibrin, parents of a rich man in the area, Alhaji Yusuf Jibrin, but they later released the father after severe injuries and went with the mother who is still in their den.
The man said they did not get any support from security personnel until after the kidnappers had gone.
He added that the deceased, Abba Yusuf Gwaddu, who is his brother, died at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital on Wednesday, while the remaining two are receiving treatment.
The Kano State police command confirmed the incident through its Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa.
He said two people were kidnapped by the gunmen but their personnel have rescued one person and that they have commenced an investigation towards rescuing the other victim.