At least 16 residents have been kidnapped by armed men during a late-night attack on Peze community in the Byazhi area of Kubwa, within the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
Residents told reporters that the gunmen invaded the neighbourhood on Tuesday night between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., moving from house to house in an attempt to force entry into several homes.
A resident said the attackers had gathered earlier in an uncompleted building opposite his house before launching the operation.
“They came to my house first. A neighbour noticed them watching from a window after they assembled in the uncompleted building across the road,” the resident said.
According to him, the armed men repeatedly banged on his door and tried to provoke anyone inside to respond.
“The way they operate is that once you answer them, they break the window and force their way in,” he explained.
The resident said the gunmen also issued threats, warning that anyone who refused to open their door would be killed.
When they failed to gain entry into his house, the attackers reportedly moved to other homes in the community where they succeeded in abducting several residents.
“In total, they kidnapped about 16 people,” the resident added.
Among those abducted were four children belonging to a pastor in the community. The resident said the pastor was not at home when the attack occurred.
“He had stepped out briefly. Before he returned, people started calling him that kidnappers were operating in the area. When he rushed back home, he discovered that four of his children had been taken, leaving only the youngest behind,” the source said.
The attack also affected the family of a local vigilante commander who had been assisting residents in resisting criminal groups in the area.
According to residents, the commander had just left his home around 10 p.m. when a neighbour alerted him that gunmen had entered a nearby house.
“He rushed to the location mentioned by the neighbour, not knowing that the attackers had already surrounded his own house,” the source said.
When he attempted to return home, the gunmen reportedly blocked the road and opened fire. They later stormed his residence and abducted his wife along with her younger sister, who had come to visit three days earlier.
Residents said the woman had given birth less than 40 days before the attack, and the kidnappers left the newborn baby behind.
“They even ate the food she was cooking before abducting her,” the resident said.
Security operatives were said to have arrived later, but the attackers had already fled with their victims.
Community members said the abductors have since contacted families of the victims and demanded ransom.
Residents noted that the area has experienced several kidnapping incidents in recent weeks, including an earlier abduction on January 4 that prompted locals to organise vigilante patrols.
They are now calling on authorities and security agencies to urgently deploy more personnel to the community and address the growing wave of kidnappings.
Attempts to reach Josephine Adeh, spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force in the FCT, were unsuccessful as of the time this report was filed.