ABUJA – An unspecified number of motorists and passengers were reportedly kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Tuesday.
The incident reportedly happened near the Abacha Barracks bypass in Guzape, at about 11:31pm on February 25, this has heightened fears among residents as insecurity continues to escalate in the country’s capital.
Multiple abductions were reported in recent weeks in Bwari, Kuje, and Gwagwalada areas, where armed gangs kidnapped scores of individuals, including schoolchildren and commuters.
A security analyst and counter insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama reported the latest attack, citing a police source who revealed that upon responding to the distress call, officers discovered two abandoned vehicles: a black Toyota Prado Land Cruiser with registration number Abuja RBC 900 SF, reportedly belonging to Hon. Shagala Samuel, and a Honda Civic with registration number RSH 181 TH.
“The responding team immediately combed the surrounding area and nearby bushes, but no contact was made with the victims or the perpetrators,” the source said.
Efforts to track the perpetrators have so far yielded little results, as the responding patrol team combed the surrounding areas and nearby bushes but found no trace of the victims or the kidnappers.
Following the attack, security operatives across major entry and exit points of the FCT have been placed on high alert, while the abandoned vehicles have been recovered for further investigation.
The FCT Police Command’s spokeswoman Josephine Adeh could not be reached for comment, but it was gathered that the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit has launched efforts to locate the abducted victims and apprehend those responsible for the growing spate of kidnappings in Abuja
INSECURITY AND VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
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