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Bandits on Wednesday night invaded Gidan-Bijimi in Kawu ward of Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) abducting six young girls alongside a 16-year-old boy.
It was gathered that the victims were in the community for the burial of a relative who died recently.
Daily Trust reports that the Gidan-Bijimi Community shares a boundary with neighbouring Marke village on the FCT–Kaduna State border.
A resident of the area, Suleiman Shuaibu, confirmed the incident to our reporter. He said the bandits wielding AK-47 rifles invaded two houses in the community around 9:47 p.m. and whisked away the victims amid sporadic gunshots.
He said six of the victims are natives of Kubacha village in Kagarko LGA of Kaduna State and that they arrived the community on Wednesday for a burial ceremony.
The source said the bandits first invaded the house of a resident of the community simply identified as Waha, but did not meet him at home after which they moved to the next compound and whisked away the guests alongside a 16-year-old boy.
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“Actually, those six young girls who were abducted came from Kubacha village in Kagarko LGA of Kaduna State for the burial of an elderly woman at Gidan -Bijimi community. The bandits, after missing their target invaded the compound where the guests were staying and whisked them away,” he said.
According to him, some residents were forced to flee their homes following gunshots by the bandits.
“Some of the villagers that fled their homes on Wednesday night have started returning,” the source added.
The source, who said one of the victims is his cousin, said some vigilante members in the area attempted to confront the attackers, but were forced to retreat due to the bandits’ “superior firepower”.
The attack is coming hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a state of emergency on Nigeria’s security situation.
In a statement on Wednesday, President Tinubu said the development followed a review of the nation’s security landscape, prompting him to “declare a nationwide security emergency and order additional recruitment into the Armed Forces.”
He also authorised the army and police to recruit more personnel. He said the police will recruit an additional 20,000 officers, bringing the total to 50,000.
Our correspondent, who visited the FCT community, observed increased security presence, with operatives stationed at strategic points, including several ambush positions.
The Divisional Police Officer of Bwari Division, Babayola Musa, and the DPO of the Rapid Respond Squad, Zanna Maikudi, were seen leaving the area with their teams. After a brief conversation, they confirmed the development.
Bwari residents speak
Some residents of Bwari area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried the incessant attacks on the community by bandits.
Daily Trust reports that the town, which is about 30 kilometers away from the Abuja city centre, shares borders with Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State and Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State. The two local government areas have been notorious for bandit attacks in recent times.
A community leader in Bwari, who craved anonymity for security reasons, said the situation has become scary, with people increasingly finding it difficult to either go to farm or sleep at night in their houses.
The community leader confirmed the Wednesday night attack on Gidan Bijimi in Kawu ward of Bwari Area Council, where six girls and a boy were kidnapped.
Daily Trust further reports that last Tuesday, bandits numbering about 30, invaded Guto village, a community that is a few kilometers away from Bwari town, killing a policeman.
Josiah Isah, a resident of the community, told one of our correspondents that the criminals operated for close to an hour before reinforced security operatives came to engage them, killing two of them.
Late last year, the kidnappers also invaded Paiwe, Tundun-Fulani, and some parts of Sabon-Gari through that axis, which is less than a kilometre to the council’s secretariat.
Mr. Isaac Innocent, a resident of Tundun-Fulani area of Bwari, said the bandits often enter the area through a valley that connects the area with Tafa LGA of Niger State.
Also from Tafa LGA, some bandits recently shot dead two residents of Garam, a community that shares a border with Bwari.
The victims and two others were said to be returning from a wedding ceremony in Gwagwalada, when they ran into the bandits at the entrance of Garam from Sabo-Wuse. Daily Trust
