Join our Telegram group and receive breaking and trending news updates directly on your phone.
Join for News Updates ✕
By Correspondent in Abuja.
(The Guardian.
Residents of Peze and Kungabokun communities in the Byazhin-Across area of Kubwa, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said they have been living in constant fear as armed kidnappers terrorize their neighborhoods.
According to them,what began as whispered rumors of abductions has turned into a chilling reality with houses invaded at night, gunshots echoing through the hills and bushes, and women, men, and children being dragged into the shadows by masked assailants.
Philip Ikechukwu, a local resident, described the horror.“These people come in numbers, shooting and abducting anyone they see. It started two weeks ago, and already no fewer than 20 people have been kidnapped.
” Some paid ransom, some were lucky to escape. Every night we fear the gunmen will return,” he said, his voice trembling.
Even Pastor Tony Anotu of Revival Family Church recounted sleepless nights after his four children were kidnapped and later rescued, revealing the psychological toll of living under constant threat.
“Each time I closed my eyes, I saw their faces, wondering what they were feeling in the forest. It was not easy,” he said.
The Reporters gathered that violence has left the communities desperate for security reinforcements.
Chief Saidu Ibrahim, the Village Head of Peze, warned that the porous terrain and potential informants make it easy for kidnappers to operate.
“If there were a police station or military checkpoint here, many lives could have been spared,” he said.
Our correspondent gathered that recent joint operations by the police, Nigerian Army, DSS, and local vigilantes have rescued twenty victims and neutralized some suspects, but fear persists as others remain at large, fleeing with gunshot wounds into the surrounding forests.
Residents expressed concern that they now live with the chilling knowledge that at any hour, their homes could be next target of the bandits.
They called on the FCT authorities to come to their rescue them from the clutches of kidnappers and other criminal elements in the area.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
