Unknown gunmen attack, Tunga Maji, an Abuja community, kidnap residents
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Unidentified gunmen raided Tunga Maji, a suburb of Abuja in Gwagwalada Area Council in FCT early Thursday morning, abducting an unspecified number of residents, Nigerian NewsDirect has learnt.
The attack is coming days after reports suggested that members of the extremist group, Boko Haram, had infiltrated the federal capital.
The police spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Command, Anjugur Manzah said Nigeria Police have confirmed that at least 10 people were abducted from the community.
The attack by gunmen lasted hours in the community that lies near Zuba and Niger State.
One resident said at least 20 people were kidnapped after prolonged shooting in the town. At least two children were amongst the victims.
A source in the community told Nigerian NewsDirect that intense shooting started in the community at about 12.15 a.m. and lasted more than an hour.
He stated that members of the local vigilante group in the community were overwhelmed due to prolong shooting.
He said, “We didn’t sleep throughout the night. It’s this morning that the vigilantes told us about 20 people were abducted,” he said. He said so far the families of two children who were taken away had been identified.
One of the residents said that at least 20 people were kidnapped after long shooting in the community along the express close to Zuba. This figure could not be immediately confirmed.
Another resident of the area, who would not want his name disclosed for security reasons said heavy shooting started in the community at about 12.15 a.m. which he said lasted more than an hour.
He said, “We didn’t sleep throughout the night. It was this morning that the vigilantes told us about 20 people were abducted by the gunmen”
In a press statement on Thursday afternoon, the police spokesperson for the FCT, Anjuguri Manzah, a deputy superintendent, said police had “rescued” five out of 10 abducted residents.
“The FCT Police Command wishes to assure the public that protection of lives and property remains the core of its policing mandate and it will continue to inject fresh strategies that will place the security of the Federal Capital Territory at its optimum,” the statement said.
“The Command wishes to inform the public that when it received a distress call on Kidnap of some persons on 10th September, 2020 at about 0130hrs in Tungan Maje, a village bordering FCT and Niger state, a joint team of Police operatives from the Command Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Rapid Response Squad and Zuba Police Division responded swiftly to the occasion.
“During a fierce gun confrontation with the heavily armed hoodlums, the Police team successfully rescued five of the kidnapped victims.
“Meanwhile, a concerted effort has been deployed to rescue the remaining five victims that are still with the hoodlums who escaped into Niger state through a nearby forest that is surrounded by rocky terrain.
“The Command reassures members of the Public with its commitment to deploy proactive crime-fighting measures to ensure the security of lives and property in FCT.” he said.
