From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
No fewer than 15 residents were abducted on Wednesday night by bandits in Ungwan Gimbiya, in the Sabon Tashan area of Kaduna City.
The bandits, who reportedly stormed the area at about 11 pm, broke the fences and walls of several homes and dragged out residents from their living rooms.
The bandits have so far demanded N180 million in ransom on nine victims being held hostage, having released six the very night of the attack.
According to eyewitnesses, some abducted victims were released a few minutes after being taken, allegedly on the grounds of bad health.
When contacted for comment, the Kaduna State Police Spokesman, ASP Mohammed Jalige, said: ‘I am in a meeting, I will find out and get back to you later in the day.’
As of press time, the spokesman was yet to get back to our correspondent.
Narrating the incident, an eyewitness who did not give her name in print intimated to Daily Sun:
‘The bandits came around past 10 pm, then my husband was still outside with one guy, they were discussing, I was inside because I was having stomach upset. I was hearing noises and I came out. Coming out to the sitting room, I saw some men with knives who wanted to stab me and forced me to go outside. Coming outside I saw where they tied my husband and the two guys. My children were crying inside and I was shouting that they should allow me to go inside and pick my children.
‘They said no that I am not going anywhere that I should sit back. Then one of them spoke to the other that they should allow me to go and carry my baby inside. They allowed me and I went inside and carried my baby and I came outside. The bandits were asking us if our neighbours were inside and we answered them “No” that we don’t know. They threatened us and said that if they should enter inside their rooms and see anybody that they will kill us outside.
‘They broke their door and brought all of them outside. They asked me to go inside and they went away with six of them, one man with his two sons, my husband and two other guys. I am not familiar with [language] they were speaking.’
An escaped victim whose name was not disclosed said: ‘I discovered that there was an attack at about 11:20 pm on Wednesday. I was hearing gunshots. I first heard the first gunshot, the second and third. On hearing the fourth gunshot, they shook our gate and they couldn’t gain entrance, they broke the wall and entered our compound then I and my wife had to run for safety.
‘We hid in one of the bedrooms, they broke my burglary and entered into my sitting room, kitchen and the other bedroom, they tried opening the bedroom where I and my wife hid, but they couldn’t open it because I locked it with key. They also destroyed it, yet they couldn’t enter.’