The surge in criminal activities within Abuja, the federal capital, has taken a more alarming turn with the recent assaults on Gbaupe, a rural village situated behind ACO Estate Lugbe along the Abuja Airport Road.
In this distressing incident, 12 individuals, including a 9-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, were abducted.
According to an account from a villager, the attack occurred on Sunday, during which two of the kidnapped individuals managed to escape as they were being led into the bush behind the village.
Shockingly, one of the abductees was forcibly taken without a shirt or footwear.
While Gbaupe has experienced criminal incidents before, the scale of this kidnapping episode is unprecedented for the village.
The local Vigilante attempted to confront the kidnappers but was overpowered, facing superior firepower.
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Kidnappings have become a rampant issue in the surrounding areas, spanning Gbau, Kuje, Gauge, Pegi, Abaji, Keti, and Kwali, persisting without effective challenge for over three years.
As of the time of reporting, approximately 9:15 am, the kidnappers had not made contact with the families of the victims.
A resident, speaking anonymously to Vanguard, revealed that the kidnappers, numbering up to 15, carried out their operation from 12:15 am to 2:46 am.
He said, “The kidnapping incident happened in the early hours of yesterday, December 11th, at Gbaupe village behind ACO Estate, Airport Road, Abuja. 12 people were kidnapped, including three young people and women. Two men later escaped.
“One vigilante was killed. The kidnappers were about 15 in number. They operated from 12.15 a.m. until 2.46 am firing sporadically. The kidnappers are yet to make contact with the family. This is the 3rd incident this year.”
Yesterday, news circulated extensively about the abduction of a nursing mother and three children by bandits in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
According to residents, the bandits entered the community on Sunday night, between 7 pm and 9 pm, seizing a mother along with her six-month-old baby and two other children.
Francis Bobai, a community resident and a board of trustees member, informed the media that the gunmen abducted a woman and her three children, emphasizing that this marked the fifth incident in a series without any intervention from security forces.
He said, “This is the fifth time kidnappers are attacking with no action from the government.”