From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Bandits raided some houses at Anguwar Maji in Jere town, Kaduna State, along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway and abducted 22 villagers at about 11pm, on Sunday.
This happened barely 24 hours after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, visited the highway and declared it safe for travellers, after the terror attacks on Abuja-Kaduna bound train last week.
Jere, which shares a boundary with Tafa-Sabon-Wuse in Niger State, is located on the ever-busy Abuja-Kaduna Highway.
When contacted, spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mohammed Jalinge, said he would contact the DPO in the area and get back to Daily Sun. But he did not get back at the time of filing this report.
However, a source who confirmed the latest abduction said the incident happened around 11pm on Sunday.
He said the bandits, who came in large numbers, invaded some houses and whisked away 22 residents, including five women.
“The bandits came in their large numbers and some of them wore army uniforms. They moved from house to house and woke their victims up before marching them into the bush at gunpoint,” he said.
He said the bandits operated silently in the community for over an hour, adding that they only started shooting sporadically to scare people from coming after them when they left the community.
The source added that one of the 22 kidnapped victims escaped from his abductors while being led into the bush.