Families affected by a recent kidnapping attack in the Kubwa area of Abuja have appealed to authorities for urgent help after armed men invaded homes, looted property and abducted several residents, including women and children.
Among those taken is a nursing mother who had delivered a baby less than 40 days before the incident, leaving the newborn separated from his mother while she remains in captivity.
Her husband, Yohanna Ciroma, told reporters that the family has been thrown into deep distress since the attack. According to him, the infant is currently being cared for by his sister while the family waits for the mother’s safe return.
“My wife, who is a nursing mother, was also kidnapped,” Ciroma said. “Our newborn baby is now with my sister, who is taking care of him and feeding him until we can rescue his mother.”
Ciroma explained that he discovered what had happened after sending a colleague to check on his home when he could not reach his wife.
“I asked a colleague to go to my house and check on my family. When he got there, he said he had been calling my wife but she wasn’t answering. He noticed that one of the windows had been broken,” he said.He immediately rushed home and realized his wife had been taken.
“I ran into the bush searching everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found. It is not even up to 40 days since she gave birth,” he added.
The emotional toll of the incident has been heavy on the family, particularly the newborn who now depends on relatives for care.
“The baby is with my sister. She is buying milk and feeding him because his mother is not here,” Ciroma said.
Another family in the community is also facing a heartbreaking situation after four of their children were abducted during the same raid. Their mother, Gloria Anotu, pleaded with the government to intervene and help bring her children home safely.
“All I want is for the government to help me get my children back,” she said in tears. “They are the only problem I have now.”
According to her, witnesses said the children were forced away without even being allowed to properly dress.
“They didn’t wear clothes when they were taken. My last child is just six years old and she was very sick,” Anotu explained.
She also described how the attackers ransacked her home during the raid.
“They broke into my house, entered my room and scattered everything. They went into the store and took food items like rice and oil. They even packed our clothes from the wardrobe,” she said.
The children’s father, Tony Anotu, said the trauma his children might be going through is unbearable.
“We are Nigerians, but it feels like we are living as slaves in our own country,” he said. “The children are now in the hands of people carrying dangerous weapons. Their father and mother are not there with them.”
He appealed directly to the Nigerian government and security agencies, including President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly of Nigeria, to urgently intervene.
“You are there to protect the citizens of this country. We are crying and asking for help,” he said.
A local vigilante member, Christian Cletus, said community volunteers were unable to confront the kidnappers due to the sophisticated weapons they carried.
“With the kind of weapons they had, I don’t think we could match them,” he said, stressing the need for stronger security presence in the area.