Bandits have abducted nine persons, including three children, barely hours after killing six residents in Akwondo community, Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The attackers had earlier stormed the community, shooting dead six people who were reportedly resting under a tree before fleeing the area.
A community member, Garba Tanimu, said the bandits returned on Saturday at about 10:12 p.m., when they carried out the abduction. He disclosed that six adult males and three children aged between 12 and 15 were taken during the second attack.
According to him, the gunmen, armed with AK-47 rifles, invaded two houses belonging to Muazu Shehu and Bala Ya’u, forcefully dragging the victims into the bush amid sporadic gunshots.
Tanimu added that the bandits escaped through the Maraban Wolijo axis, which connects the community to Kachia town.
He explained that the attackers operated with ease because the six young men killed earlier were those who usually confronted the bandits and pursued them during rescue efforts.
“The reason the bandits operated so freely when they returned on Saturday was that they had already succeeded in killing the six young men who usually pursued them to rescue abducted victims,” he said. “They felt comfortable enough to return the next day and whisk away more victims without anyone to confront them.”
A community leader, who requested anonymity, also confirmed the abduction of the nine persons, lamenting that the area has remained under constant threat since November last year.
“The truth is that the Akwondo community is under siege. Those six young men were the ones who always prevented these bandits from abducting our people, but now that they have been killed, we are vulnerable,” he said.
The leader noted that the abductors have yet to make contact and appealed to security agencies to intervene and help secure the release of the victims.
Efforts to get a response from the spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Hassan Mansur, were unsuccessful as of the time of this report.