Gunmen, suspected to be bandits have abducted 22 farmers in a community within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, the Nigeria Police has said.
Deputy police spokesman for FCT Command, Oduniyi Omotayo, who confirmed the abduction on Friday, said the gunmen attacked the community, Rafin Daji, a boundary community Between Niger State and the FCT at the time farmers were cultivating their farmlands.
According to him, “The incidence happened in Rafin Daji, a boundary community between Niger and the FCT. The farmers were on their farm land working when gun men outnumbered and kidnapped them.
“Upon receipt of this information, a combined team of Police officers from various Tactical and intelligence units of the Command, Destiny Hunters, Vigilantes, and local hunters stormed the forest, combing it aggressively even as I speak for the rescue of the victims and to bring perpetrators to book. Monitoring and surveillance of the community also continues.”
Earlier, it was reported that eyewitnesses said the gunmen shot sporadically when they invaded the community, fortunately, no lives were lost.
They alleged that the assailants whisked away 22 farmers, burnt down two tractors belonging to the owner of a large farm in the area.
A relative of some of the victims, Engineer Ibrahim Barde, said his immediate younger brothers and their families who were on their farms had barely finished their work when the gunmen attacked.
He said “they were 13 of them on the farm including seven children between the ages of 15 and 17, three women; one just got married last year and an aged woman, my brothers and the tractor driver.”
He gave the names of some of his relative kidnapped to include: “Ismaila Barde, Mustapha Barde, Nasiru Barde, Abdulkarim Barde, Sanusi Barde, Usman Barde, Nura Barde, Abdullahi Barde, Babawo Barde, Farida Ayuba, Hauwa Ayuba and Husai Abdullahi.
According to Engineer Barde, the gunmen have contacted his family but were yet to make any demand.
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