Insecurity
Terrorists Kidnap Seven In Abuja Village Hours After Tinubu Declares Nationwide Security Emergency
Attempts by local vigilantes to repel the attackers were futile, as the bandits overpowered them with superior firepower
Abuja, Nigeria — No fewer than seven residents of Gidan-Bijimi, a village in the Kawu ward of Bwari Area Council, were abducted on Wednesday night in a brazen attack by armed bandits.
Daily Trust reports the attack occurred around 10 p.m., with gunmen reportedly storming the community near the Abuja-Kaduna border, shooting indiscriminately before abducting six young girls and a 16-year-old boy.
Suleiman Shuaibu, whose cousin was among the victims, told reporters,
“It was around 9:53 pm when a call came from the Gidan-Bijimi community that some bandits invaded the village and abducted six young girls, unfortunately my cousin sister happened to be among the victims.”
Attempts by local vigilantes to repel the attackers were futile, as the bandits overpowered them with superior firepower, residents said.
The abduction comes barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency in response to escalating attacks by bandits across Nigeria, including recent incidents in Kwara, Niger, and Kebbi states.
Under the emergency measures, the President ordered the recruitment of 20,000 police officers and 30,000 military personnel, conversion of National Youth Service Corps camps into training depots, withdrawal of police escorts for high-profile individuals, and deployment of State Security Service operatives to flush bandits from forest hideouts.
