Residents of Dei-Dei town located off Kubwa-Zuba Road, under Bwari area council in the Federal Capital Territory, were thrown into shock at the weekend following the abduction of over 23 residents of the community, mostly taken from three housing estates in the area. The kidnappers, mostly said to be in military uniform, arrived at the livestock layout area, located on the edge of the popular Abuja livestock market, Dei-Dei, around 8 pm and carried out their operation quietly, as has been disclosed by residents.
At the same period a similar incident took place at the nearby Arab Road residential area, in Kubwa town, also along the highway, the next day, Sunday, where seven residents were abducted by kidnappers believed to be sharing the same base in the bush, with that of the Dei-Dei operators. Seven residents including two babies were released in the case of Dei-Dei incident, while another baby as well as two women were released by those abducted in Kubwa in what looked like a humanitarian gesture or ransom money demand’s strategy.
Aminatu Mustapha is one of occupants of three units of housing estates, in livestock layout, Dei-Dei. She was abducted by the kidnappers along with her two-year-old son, and four daughters. She was among the released three abducted persons from the community, just about an hour into the journey. The housewife sitting behind her husband in their house, narrated in shock during a visit by our reporter on Monday, how four of the kidnappers raided into their apartment before 8 pm on Saturday.
“We are yet to lock the main door attached to our apartment as it was just 7 pm. So, they made their way straight into our sitting room and flashed me with their torchlight and seized my mobile phone immediately. Initially I mistook them for armed robbers until when they walked me out along with my four children, before later taking us out of the community with other neighbours they abducted, Aminatu, explained.
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She further said that it was on their way into the deep bush, that the kidnappers ordered her to sit down and later asked her to go with her little son, along with another baby of about six months from their neighbours, just as they moved away with the baby’s mother, as well as others.
Ibrahim Galadima is the Mai-Unguwa or ward head of the Dei-Dei community. He also doubled as the commander of the security vigilante in the district.
He said following the receipt of an alert about the incident around after 9pm, he passed the information to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Zuba, and immediately mobilized his team into the bandit’s direction.
“I believed the seven persons released by the bandits may likely have been as a result of our sustained pressure on the kidnappers, even though we were not able to meet them on our way.
Galadima said according to the information they have gathered the kidnappers had left the area with their victims in three batches. He said the estates where the incidents happened are new facilities that were let out for rent, less than six months ago.
Shamsu Armaya’u Muhammad, a security guard at one of the affected estates where seven persons were abducted said three apartments were affected with some of their occupants abducted by the kidnappers. He said the kidnappers forced their way into the compound moments after he came in and locked the compound gate. “They forced the gate open, took my wife along with other victims, “ he added.
Shamsu said he was able to escape by jumping over the fence of the estate. He said the released six-month baby was from the compound.
Also abducted in the community is a retired military captain who was said to be relaxing outside when the kidnappers were leaving the community with their victims.
The retired military man has rendered part of the house to some people displaced by insecurity from Katsina state while himself living in another part still uncompleted. One of the residents of the house who simply gave her name as Maman Gambo said the kidnappers took a time looking into the house.
“Everyone among us has initially mistaken the kidnappers as the security men on patrol that used to raid some nearby drug dealers. So, when one of them came the retired military man introduced himself as the landlord after which they demanded him to get up and go with them. They seized his mobile phone and made him go along with another person, who is a serving police man. Daily Trust further learnt that two other residents who returned to one of the estates during the operation were forced by the kidnappers to join them, while leaving the vehicle along the way.
Daily Trust also learnt that the kidnappers also abducted many other people along the way although it was said that some of them escaped.
Meanwhile, the gunmen who raided residences on Arab Road area in Kubwa on Sunday night, have released three of their victims while they continue to hold four others. Daily Trust reports that the kidnappers, also wearing military uniform, went to the community neighbouring a mining site where stones are been crushing around 8 pm and abducted six persons from a single compound comprising a house wife, her four children as well as a maid, a lady.
Another house wife was also abducted by the kidnappers outside her compound just as they were moving with their first victims out of the community.
Speaking to our reporter during a visit yesterday one of the released victims, Zainab Hassan, said she was sitting inside their uncompleted building when she noticed her husband from the nearby being beaten by the gunmen who were heading out of the community with their victims.
I confronted them trying to find out what was the issue and they stopped beating him and ordered me to follow them. They took us to their base inside the bush before they later changed their minds and released me along with my neighbour’s baby of about six months along with another lady that lives with her, Zainab explained.
A member of the security guard in the community Abububakar Adam, said some residents along with members of security guards in the community had mobilised and made attempt to get to the kidnappers as they were leaving.
“But we have to change our mind having understood that we could not confront them with our light arms,’’ he said.
Some residents, who spoke to Daily Trust, said it was the third time that kidnappers attacked the area in the last three years. They noted that all the attacks were carried out in December.
When contacted the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, S.P Josephine Adeh, said the reported kidnappings were not true. “This is not true, disregard please,’’ she said in a reply to Daily Trust’s text message to her.
She said the command has declared “an unwavering commitment to fortifying security measures, have deployed rigorous strategies to prevent any attempts at kidnapping before, during, and after the yuletide seasons.”
