Residents of Dakwa, DeiDei, a village along the Zuba-Suleja route in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja, were plunged into uncertainty and terror when gunmen raided the area between 12 and 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, kidnapping four persons and injuring several others.
According to eyewitness Moses Chukwuma, the suspected bandits began their operation in the Rufaida district of Dakwa and moved to a popular filling station known as ‘Buy Filling Station’ before heading down to Hasmos School.
He stated that the invasion caused a severe gun battle between the vigilantes and the bandits, which resulted in the abduction of four victims.
Cukwuma said: “As I speak at 9 am this Sunday morning, there is a significant military presence and other senior police officers in Dakwa, assessing what happened during the night,” the eyewitness reported.
“We did our best to alert the necessary security forces, but all efforts could not prevent the kidnappings”.
A resident, who pleaded anonymity while recounting hearing intense gunfire, said she was too frightened to leave her home.
She noted that the gun battle lasted for nearly 30 minutes.
Another resident, Bala Usman, who also spoke confirmed the incident and appealed to the government to enhance security measures to protect the lives and property of residents of the community.
He urged his fellow residents to maintain communication with security authorities when necessary, adding that constant patrol of security operatives especially the police is highly recommended to forestall further attack.
All efforts to get the reaction of the FCT police command were futile as calls and messages put across to the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josphine Adeh were not responded to.
Residents of the area are still in fear over the sad incident.