Some residents of Dawaki, a community near Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been kidnapped.
According to a source, 20 persons were kidnapped in the incident which sparked tension in the area.
The attackers were said to have raided houses on Frank Opara street before security operatives responded to distress calls.
Chairman of Dawaki Rock Heaven Community, Tunde Abdulrahim, said the incident happened at about 7:30 pm. on Sunday.
Abdulrahim said the heavily armed bandits, numbering about 50 and consisting of men and women, invaded the community and broke into about six houses.
Commenting on the attack, FCT police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Benneth Igweh, led policemen to the scene and engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle.
“In an immediate and strategic response to a distress call on the attack by unknown gunmen in Dawaki on May 19, 2024, at about 11:30pm, the operatives of the FCT police Command led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Igweh, himself, swiftly mobilised to the scene.”
“Displaying remarkable bravery and coordination, the police, in synergy with local hunters, advanced on the assailants, tactically ambushing them at Ushafa Hill via Bwari and Shishipe Hills via Mpape. This led to a fierce gun duel as the hoodlums were overwhelmed by the firepower of the operatives, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullets injuries, and the victims were rescued.
“While one of the rescued victims is still in the hospital receiving medical attention, the Commissioner of Police, FCT, reaffirms the Command’s steadfast dedication to maintaining peace and security in the Territory, as search operations are ongoing to rescue other hostages who fled the scene during the shootout,” Adeh said.
The News had reported how the bandits in the early hours of Sunday abducted five people from Shagari Quarters, Dei-Dei in the FCT.
Vigilante sources in the community told our correspondent that the attackers arrived in the area around noon and went straight to the compound of a senior customs officer, where they picked his wife, three of his children and a younger brother.
“They spent more than two hours before proceeding to the neighbouring Dakwa community. The man used to work in Abuja, with the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) always parking around his house. But they are no longer around following his deployment to Lagos, though his family is still living in the compound,” the source added.
An attempt by the bandits to attack some houses in Dakwa town was said to have been unsuccessful, following a fierce fire exchange with security men there, which forced them to withdraw, according to the Chief of Dakwa Dr Alhassan Musa Babachukuri.
The traditional ruler lamented that the bandits have created a base behind the Zuma Rock in Chachi community near Dakawa in neighbouring Niger State, which leads to some forests around Bwari.
He called on the government to take serious action against the bandits before they escalate their activities.