Gunmen suspected to be bandits have abducted a 16-year-old boy alongside six young girls from the Gidan-Bijimi community in Kawu Ward of Bwari Area Council, Bwari, in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Wednesday night.
Local sources who spoke with Daily Trust said the attack triggered panic after two houses were raided and victims whisked away within minutes.
A spokesman familiar with the area said that Gidan-Bijimi shares a boundary with Marke Village and Marke Village shares a boundary with Marke Village at the border axis of Kaduna State, as earlier reported by Daily Trust.
A resident of Kawu, Suleiman Shuaibu, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust by telephone on Thursday morning.
He said the bandits, armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed two homes at about 9:47 p.m., firing sporadic shots and overpowering local vigilantes who had attempted resistance.
“It was around 9:53 p.m. when a call came from Gidan-Bijimi that bandits invaded the village and abducted six young girls, including a 16-year-old boy. My cousin sister happened to be among the victims,” he said.
Shuaibu reported that the attacked homes saw armed men lead victims into the bush, moments after a distress call was made.
The eyewitness said the kidnapped girls were aged between 17 and 23, while the male victim was 16. He clarified that the families were yet to reach the bandits, with no contact established at the time of filing this report.
He added that local vigilantes had tried to repel the attackers but later ran for cover due to superior weapons and tactical disadvantage.
Two days before the incident, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had directed that security be tightened around Abuja, with surveillance strengthened at all borders and entry points linking neighbouring states.
Following the directive, a joint task force team comprising operatives from the police, the Department of State Services and other agencies was deployed to multiple border communities in the FCT.
Addressing the joint security team earlier mobilised for border sweeps, the FCT Police Commissioner, CP Miller G. Dantawaye, charged operatives to build synergy to eliminate crime.
The Commissioner reiterated that logistics for the operation had been approved earlier by Wike to reinforce border security.
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