…As Tactical and Intelligence Officers from various units of FCT Police Command, Destiny Hunters, Vigilantes, and local hunters are all combining the forest in search of the victims “
By Charles Edet
Kidnappers Suspected to be Bandits from Niger State stormed Rafin Daji, a boundary Community situated between Niger State and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja have abducted 22 farmers to an unknown place, the Nigeria Police has said.
The Deputy police spokesman for FCT Police 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, the abducted farmers were cultivating their farmlands.
According to Oduniyi , “The incidence happened in Rafin Daji, a boundary community between Niger and the FCT, while the farmers were on their farm land working the gun men who outnumbered them struck and kidnapped them.
On receiving the information, the command proactively responded with a combined team of Police Officers from various Tactical and intelligence units of the Command in synergy with local Vigilantes, and Native hunters stormed the forest, combing it aggressively.
The police and the volunteer group are still monitoring and searching the forests for the rescue of the victims and to bring perpetrators to book. Monitoring and surveillance of the community also continues.” Oduniyi Omotayo said.
Some members of the community who witnessed the development stated in their account, that the gunmen shot sporadically when they invaded the community, amidst the confusion but no live was lost.
Engineer Ibrahim Barde, one of the relative of some of the victims, reported that his younger brothers and their families who were on their farms had barely finished their work when the gunmen came attacking.
He said “they were 13 of them on the farm with seven children between the ages of 15 and 17, including three women; one of which was married last year with an aged woman, my brothers and the tractor driver.”
He gave the names of some of his kidnapped relatives 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.
It will be recalled that on the 31st of March2022, some online media and conventional newspapers reported the refutal by the FCT Police Command that there was no bandits encroaching communities in FCT. It was wildly publicized then that bandits attacked communities around Kubwa. The news reported by pmnewsnigeria.com, published on the 31st of Narch 2022 stated thus:
“The Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Babaji Sunday, has called on residents to disregard the news of the bandit invasion in Kubwa, Abuja.
DSP Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer said this in a statement in Abuja. She said the call followed misleading news making rounds that a number of miscreants stormed and raided the Pipeline Extension area in Kubwa and dispossessed residents of their belongings. “The Command, therefore, wishes to categorically refute this erroneous and misleading news and state, emphatically that it is baseless and unfounded. “It is promulgated with the malicious intention to instil fear and apprehension in the minds of residents and the good people of FCT,” she said. CP Babaji urged residents to discontinue the propagation of the news and go about their lawful businesses without fear of harassment or molestation….”
Meanwhile, recent developments of bandits attack in Rafin Daji community is an eye openers over the facts that bandits are indeed lurking around communities and are underground in satellite towns of FCT waiting to unleash havoc, that may take the police unaware with a surprise attack on the metropolis.
However, it germane to state that CP Sunday Babaji, has not relented in putting up good security architecture to contain all anti security and peace Elements within the federal territory and he has always guaranteed the residents of their safety.