The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja is grappling with an alarming surge in bandit attacks, causing widespread panic among residents.
The assailants, believed to be infiltrating from neighbouring states like Niger and Kaduna, have left communities on the outskirts of the FCT in a state of fear and despair.
Reports indicate that the attackers employ covert routes, often slipping into communities through river or bush paths, making detecting their movements challenging for security operatives at checkpoints.
The attacks, which gained momentum in November 2023, have resulted in numerous casualties, both during the raids and within the confines of bandit camps.
The escalating violence seriously affects communities such as Tukolo, Baran-Goni, Kuduru, Zuma, Igwu, Shere, Kawu, and Mpape.
Residents in other areas around Kubwa, Dutse, Dei-Dei, and nearby Zhibi communities are also falling victim to these marauding elements.
One of the most distressing aspects of the attacks is the exorbitant ransom demands imposed by the bandits.
Families of kidnapped victims are left with no choice but to sell off their property at reduced prices or provide unusual items like cartons of milk, drinks, bits of hemp, and even mobile phone recharge cards.
In a recent incident, a kidnapped chief was released after paying a staggering N11 million in ransom. Shockingly, he was further coerced into supplying recharge cards and engine oil for his captors.
Similar cases have emerged where the bandits demanded motorcycles, each priced at N1.5 million.
The security concerns are particularly heightened given that key government institutions, including the Nigerian Law School campus, Federal Government Girls’ College, and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) staff quarters, are located in the Bwari Area Council – an area severely impacted by the bandit onslaught.
Residents and parents living in these areas are now living in perpetual fear for the safety of their families and children.
Speaking to Daily Trust, a retired military captain who recently escaped from the bandits’ den following his abduction from one of the FCT communities has said that informants living around the people were the major challenge in dealing with kidnapping.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, he said their kidnappers had mentioned their targets, giving their names and professions in detail.
“But I believe they were getting the wrong information about me as there is no way I could have owned the money they mentioned to me as a retired military captain,” he said.
He said the camp where he was taken to, along with other victims, took them about six hours of trekking in the bush without a single community along the way, except one he learnt had been taken over by the bandits recently.
“Although the location is within Kaduna State, from the look of things, it is not far from Abuja due to traffic movement of flights, which you can only have in the Abuja airport,” he said.
He put the number of kidnappers’ camps scattered across the bush at 20, each one under the control of a gang leader. He said his kidnappers had knowledge of his past profession from day one but claimed to set him free if he cooperated.
