From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Residents of Angwan Bulus in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State are in a state of panic following the discovery of the corpses of five abducted persons, including three from Angwan Bulus.
About two weeks ago, bandits attacked the Angwan Bulus community, which is a part of Kaduna city, killing one local and abducting several others. The attack was part of a string of bloody attacks in neighbouring communities like Juji, Angwan Gimbiya and Sabo GRA.
What is not clear to many residents in the state was the boldness and audacity of the attackers having to cross a dual carriage highway behind Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) on several motorcycles repeatedly without a matching challenge from security operatives in the area.
A credible source in the area who confirmed the development told Daily Sun that the bandits had called their community contact to go to a particular location at Dutse village along the Kaduna-Abuja highway to pick up the three persons killed due to failure to pay ransoms placed on their heads.
‘The bandits called earlier yesterday that they have killed three of the people they kidnapped and told us where their bodies were deposited,’ the source stated.
‘The terrorists called last evening and said since we refused to pay the ransom, we should go to a location and carry the corpses of our people.
‘Before we get there, we learnt that Police had already evacuated the bodies and deposited them at Saint Gerald Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna. We were at the hospital last night to confirm that.
‘The terrorists made further threats that if the community and families fail to pay the ransom by tomorrow evening (Tuesday evening ), they should go to the same spot and carry another set of corpses.
‘Right now, we are confused. We don’t know what to do. We have sold all we ever worked for to appease these people but they want more. We are appealing to the federal and state governments to come to our rescue to save the remaining people in captivity,’ the source said in tears.
The spokesman for the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the unfortunate development via a telephone call.
‘I received phone calls from some people this morning me of three bodies that were found at Dutse village somewhere in the bush. The corpses were evacuated to Saint Gerald Hospital. We are trying to talk to the area commander to ensure the safe return of those who are still in captivity,’ he said.
In the same vein, eight out of 20 persons that were abducted in Idon town, Kajuru LGA, have been released by their abductors after spending about two months in captivity.
‘They were released on Sunday after ransom was paid. They said we need to bring additional ran some before they can release the remaining 12 persons.
‘We have reported the recurrence of bandits attacks in Kajuru and Kachia to higher authority but they have not done anything concrete to stop the attacks. As we speak, there are several others in the kidnappers’ den apart from these 12 people,’ another source who spoke in confidence said.