Panic as gunmen abduct 13 in raid on Abuja village, demand N900m ransom

Gunmen stormed Piko, a remote community in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Terrritory, FCT, on Sunday night, kidnapping 13 persons and demanding N900 million ransom.

The operation, which reportedly lasted for about an hour without any resistance, marks the latest in a series of attacks on the council.

A community source, Chief John Jatau, confirmed that among the kidnapped were 10 residents from his domain, including four nomadic Fulani herdsmen.

He noted that one out of the four Fulani captives managed to escape from the kidnappers’ custody.

Jatau identified the victims still in captivity as Nuhu Anyiwoyi, Emmanuel Nuhu, Danjuma Ali, Parisa Numa, Ezekiel Jatau, Shekwosa Ezekiel, Roseline Samuel, Salome Jacob, Abyelo Ezra and Ezra Male.

Detailing the incident, he stated, “The kidnapping incident occurred last night being Sunday 05/05/2024, at about 11:00 pm.

“The kidnappers raided the village for about one hour without any response or reaction from the community or outsiders.

“The major challenge the community faced last night in terms of communication to others was as a result of no telecommunication network in the village, so they picked people house to house.

“From the community they picked about 13 people, and later released three.”

He further stated that the Madakin Piko informed him that the kidnappers have called and demanded N900 million as ransom.

Recall that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had recently provided logistical support, including motorcycles, to enhance security in hard-to-reach areas of the territory.