Kidnappers storm El-Rufai Estate in Abuja, abduct resident

A resident of El-Rufai Estate in the Bwari area of Abuja was abducted by armed kidnappers on Saturday morning. The kidnappers broke through the fence and entered the compound of the victim, Mr Chinedu, before taking him away at gunpoint.

The victim’s wife told Daily Trust that the kidnappers shot sporadically in the air to scare their family members and neighbours. She said that she was terrified and helpless as she watched her husband being dragged away by the kidnappers.

The Chairman of Kuchiko Resettlement Development Area (KRDA), Baba Bego, also confirmed the incident to journalists. He said that the kidnappers were heavily armed and ruthless. He said that this was not the first time that such a thing had happened in the area. He said that there had been four other kidnapping cases in the past few months.

He said that the residents of the area were living in fear and uncertainty as they did not know who the next target would be. He appealed to the security agencies to intervene and stop the kidnapping menace in the area.

The kidnappers had not contacted the victim’s family as at the time of filing this report. The police spokesperson in Abuja, Josephine Adeh, did not respond to calls from Peoples Gazette for comment on the matter.

Kidnapping is a serious security challenge in Nigeria, especially in Abuja and its environs. According to a report by SBM Intelligence, a geopolitical intelligence platform, Abuja recorded 125 kidnapping incidents in 2021, making it the second most affected state after Kaduna.

The report also stated that ransom payments for kidnapping victims in Nigeria amounted to N10.77 billion ($26.5 million) in 2022, an increase of 80 per cent from 2021.

The report attributed the rise in kidnapping to poverty, unemployment, insecurity, corruption, and weak law enforcement.

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