Bandits have been making inroad into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sparking tension among resident.
The attackers, it was gathered, usually sneak into the communities through river or bush paths from neighbouring Niger and Kaduna states, where they have established camps, a situation that often leaves little or no chance for the security operatives manning the checkpoints to notice their arrival.
The attacks became rampant from November last year, according to sources, leading to the killing of many people, either at the point of operation or in their camps, where they executed victims who failed to meet their ransom demands.
Communities located on the outskirts of Bwari town, namely, Tukolo, Baran-Goni, Kuduru and Zuma, as well as other remote communities like Igwu, Shere and Kawu, and Mpape, have been worst affected by the rising attacks.
Reports have it that residents in other areas around Kubwa, Dutse, Dei-Dei and nearby Zhibi communities are also becoming prey to the marauding elements.
This is coming at a time when many villagers, who either live or own farmlands in neighbouring Niger and Kaduna states, have been ransacked by the bandits, who convert the forest around their villages to their operational bases.
Residents sell property to pay ransom
On many occasions, relatives of kidnapped victims are left with one option – selling off their property at giveaway prices to raise ransom to rescue their loved ones.
In some cases, relatives of abducted people were made to supply provision items like cartons of milk, drinks and bits of hemp, Daily Trust Saturday reports.
An abducted chief who was released by the bandits recently after coughing out N11million as ransom, was ordered to provide mobile phone recharge cards of two different networks, amounting to N500,000, even though his three children were still with the captors at the time of his release.
That was after he supplied engine oil worth N250,000 meant to be used by his kidnappers for servicing their guns and vehicles.
It was also learnt that there were cases where the kidnappers demanded that relatives of abducted victims must provide them with special motorcycles, each being sold at N1.5m.
Key government institutions at risk
Bwari Area Council is home to some strategic government institutions in the FCT, including the Nigerian Law School campus, Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which also owns staff quarters around the area, as well as other numerous private and public institutions.
There are concerns that these key institutions are under threat if nothing is done to smoke out these criminal elements.
This newspaper had in July 2022 reported how a captain and two soldiers were killed by bandits in the Bwari area.
The captain and the two soldiers were attached to the 7 Guards Brigade of the Nigerian Army.
The soldiers were reportedly ambushed after they visited the Nigeria Law School in Bwari following a distressed call from the authorities of the school. The school management was said to have alerted that terrorists had dropped a letter indicating an imminent attack on the school.
In the last few months, residents and parents whose children are studying in the aforementioned schools are now living in apprehension over their wards’ safety.
Some of them who spoke to Daily Trust Saturday about the recent incidents, called for a special operation against the kidnappers.
They argued that the deployment of security operatives around some strategic locations alone could hardly deal with the issue, adding that a special joint operation be carried out and sustained around the bandits-infested forests, including ground and aerial onslaught.
A resident of Tokulo community, which is the home town of the present serving chairman of Bwari Area Council, cited a recent incident as a case, where kidnappers rained bullets over a parked security van stationed in the area.
“Luckily for the security men, they were not inside the vehicle at the time, otherwise, the chance of their survival was little,” he said.
The resident, however, added that the security operatives had managed to fire back from their nearby hideout, which eventually made the bandits withdraw.
“But that didn’t stop the gunmen from returning to the area within just a week and abducted three residents, who were still with them,” he disclosed.
Just recently, a gang of kidnappers who raided Zuma community on the outskirts of Bwari town, opened fire against a police van on a rescue mission, injuring two policemen, as well as killing a civilian who led them to the area. They went ahead to their target, a family of seven.
Locals abandon farms
The activities of the bandits have forced many farmers to stay away from their farms around the affected communities.
The situation, it was learnt, has also forced some residents to relocate, while business owners, such as property developers, their agents, as well as artisans, are losing their means of livelihood.
Some residents interviewed disclosed that the kidnappers, who were hitherto coming only from far locations, now penetrated the forest around Igwu and Runji communities under the Kawu district that shares a boundary with Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, as well as Kaima forest, where the Bwari Area Council shares its boundary with Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Residents resort to protests
Worried by the surge in bandits’ operations, residents of Gidna, a village under Idah ward in Kagarko Local Government Area, which shares boundary with Tokulo in Bwari, recently staged a protest, blocking a highway, popularly known as SCC Road, which links Bwari town to Jere in Kaduna State.
The protesters were in the process of extending the exercise to the Abuja-Kaduna highway, “for better attention” when they were made to halt it by their traditional leader.
Daily Trust