Suspected bandits and kidnappers terrorising the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), especially Bwari and Dei Dei areas, have abducted over 96 in 21 days.

Residents of Bwari area council of the capital territory and the communities around the area are presently living in fear over the invasion of their areas by bandits.

The latest of those attacks took place on January 1, 2024 at about 11:30pm when a very senior official of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, and other members of his family, including his wife and a child, were abducted.

Three weeks earlier, on Saturday, December 9, 2023, gunmen abducted 23 residents in Dei-Dei community under Bwari area council in the FCT.

The victims were taken from their apartments in a single compound between 8pm and 9pm of the day.

The Mai Unguwar Dei-Dei, Ibrahim Galadima, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said seven of the victims were rescued about an hour later by the security vigilantes in the area who trailed the kidnappers into the bush.

“It’s like the kidnappers, who had left the area with their victims in three batches, noticed our presence on their way into the bush and let the victims go,” said Galadima who described the affected compound as a new facility let out for rent less than six months ago.

As of December 24, 2023, 25 persons were said to have been abducted in Bwari, with three losing their lives in the attacks.

On Saturday, December 23, 2023, bandits invaded Garam community situated a five-minute drive from Bwari.

During this assault, they killed a pastor affiliated with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and abducted 13 people.

On Thursday, December 28, the bandits struck again, this time invading Kuduru which shares borders with Garam, and abducted 18 individuals.

Also, on Friday, December 29, the assailants attacked Ahzu, claiming the lives of three people and abducting eight others.

A Garam resident, Mrs Juliana, narrated how bandits’ initially entered a wrong house where they seized two boys, and later used them to locate their actual target’s residence.

“When they got there, they kidnapped the entire family, but while leaving the house, they shot the man (their target), who is a pastor at the Redeemed Christians Church of God in the presence of his wife and their three children,” she said.

Residents of the area said the attackers are from Kaduna State.

Danladi Iyah, chairman of Tafa local government area of Niger State, confirmed the incident.

He said, “At Garam, nine people were kidnapped, while one person was shot dead, and at Kuduru, seven persons were abducted but no life was lost there.”

Another source, who doesn’t want to be mentioned for security reasons, said in the attack at Ahzu, which occurred on December 28, two were shot dead and three got injured.

“When such an operation takes place, they (bandits) normally pick anybody they see.

“They usually strike at about 11pm to 11:30 pm. The attack on the Garam community happened a day before Christmas, that is on the 24^th.

“The bandits attacked Kuduru three days ago, while Ahzu was invaded yesterday night at about 11:30 p.m., the normal time they usually attack.

“We have gone around today (yesterday) along with all the security outfits to see how we can control, maybe to avoid the repeat of such an incident.

“You know, it’s not as if they (bandits) are staying here; they come from the Kaduna axis to strike then go back. So, the first thing we need to do is to look at their routes; once we get their routes, then we will be able to position ourselves.”

When asked about the current situation, he said, “Everything is in control now. The security agents have actually made themselves available for us to see that it does not repeat itself.

“Yes, there are security operatives in the affected communities currently. The injured persons are doing well now; they have been discharged from the health facility.”

Also, residents are alleging connivance between the bandits and security agencies.

According to them, the military men that were deployed to the area were metres away from where the bandits struck on January 1.

At the time of this report, the residents are already planning peaceful protests but the leaders in the communities were still appealing to them to remain calm.

Insecurity Claimed 7,241 Lives In 2023

Meanwhile, reports have indicated that 7,241 Nigerians were killed in 2023 due to prevailing insecurity in the country.

Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a data bureau that collects real-time data on the locations, dates, actors, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events worldwide, stated that between January and October 2023, 7,046 people were killed in violent attacks across Nigeria.

This implies that an average of 24 persons were killed daily within the months under review.

The attack on December 26, 2023 by gunmen in Bokkos, Plateau State came as a shock as the gunmen overran more than 17 villages across Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas (LGAs), burning down houses and vehicles in the attack.

On November 5, suspected gunmen killed at least 21 farmers and abducted several others in Monguno and Mafa LGAs of Borno State.

On the same day, gunmen killed 10 farmers in Koshebe and Zabarmari communities in Mafa, less than 20 kilometres from Maiduguri.

On November 10, one person was reportedly killed while seven others sustained injuries following a clash between crop farmers and herders at Bayamari town in Bursari LGA of Yobe State.

On November 18, gunmen allegedly attacked the convoy of the Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni along Maiduguri-Damaturu Road, killing two policemen and injuring two others.

On November 27, gunmen killed 11 people who were making charcoal in Bale, a village in Damboa LGA of Borno State.

Between January and October, the ACLED documents that 15 people were killed in protests within ten months. Also, 133 people died in several riot attacks between January and October.

According to the data, the states with the highest killings within the ten months are Zamfara (672 deaths), Niger (544 deaths), Benue (454 deaths) and Plateau (362 deaths).

The states with the lowest reported cases of death are Ekiti, Gombe, and Jigawa, with five, three, and two deaths, respectively.

Further breakdown by geopolitical zone showed that states in the North-Central reported 1,589 deaths, the North East reported 2,691 deaths, and the North-West region had 1,767 deaths.

In the Southern region, the South-East recorded 450 deaths, the South-South recorded 333 deaths, and the South-West lost 216 people to attacks.

Moreso, according to the 2023 Nigeria Security Report by Beacon Consulting, an Abuja-based security risk management and intelligence consulting company, 749 Nigerians were killed in January; 624 in February; 961 in March; 707 in April; 679 in May; 854 in June; 552 in July; 638 in August; 581 in September and 1,127 in October.

Some of the major instances in 2023 include a policeman, who was killed on October 1 while Nigeria celebrated its Independence Day following an attack in the Effium community of the Ohankwu local government area of Ebonyi State.

Barely 24 hours later, bandits attacked residents of Soro community in the Binji local government area of Sokoto State and killed three persons.

The next day, terrorists attacked the Nasarawa community in the Funtua local government area of Katsina State, killing one Samaila Mairago, a councillor representing Nasarawa Ward in the council.

On October 5, gunmen attacked Iware village along the Fufore-Jada Road, Adamawa State, killing a family of nine.

On September 3, some suspected cultists killed a mentally challenged man and dismembered him in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

On the same day, two police officers, ASP Danjuma Joseph and Inspector Abu Elamaje, were killed, and another injured in an attack by gunmen in Enugu, the Enugu State capital.

The next day, three persons were killed in a cult clash in Ilorin, Kwara State.

On September 2, nine persons were killed, including seven worshippers in a mosque, by a gang of armed men in Saya village, Ikara local government area of Kaduna State. The worshippers were said to be praying when the terrorists struck.

Five days later, three persons were killed in separate attacks by bandits in Kamantan and Sabon Kaura in the Zangon Kataf local government area of the state.

The following day, two persons lost their lives, while six others were abducted when bandits invaded Kwarikwarasa village in the Maiyama local government area of Kebbi State.

In Rivers State, suspected cultists beheaded a Divisional Police Officer, Bako Angbashim, on September 8, while he was returning from an operation alongside some policemen.

Also, on September 11, gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked the Kulben community in the Mangu local government area of Plateau State and murdered 10 persons.

The following day, a 70-year-old man and community leader in Ezieke, Akpuka and Uturu in Abia State, Zachary Nmaduka, was beheaded by gunmen at the Amelechi Akpukpa community.

On September 14, four persons were killed, while about 30 others were abducted as terrorists attacked Giyawa, a community in the Goronyo local government area of Sokoto State.

Two days later, bandits raided Dogon Noma village in the Kajuru local government area of Kaduna State and killed two villagers and abducted three others.

On September 18, a total of 20 young men were killed by the Eiye and Aiye confraternities engaged in supremacy battle in Sagamu, Ogun State.

Also, on September 19, eight security operatives comprising soldiers, policemen and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were killed in Umualumaku, Ehime Mbano local government area of Imo State.

On September 27, terrorists reportedly killed six persons in Takanai community of the Atyap Chiefdom, Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

On August 10, no fewer than 20 persons lost their lives and several others sustained gunshot injuries after armed men attacked two villages in Plateau State.

In a separate attack on the same day, three farmers were waylaid and killed by bandits in Funkwa village, Kwambia, in the Yangtu Special Development Area of Taraba State.

Save Nigeria, Southern, Middlebelt Leaders Beg Tinubu

Also yesterday, leaders from the southern and middle belt regions, under the aegis of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) asked President Bola Tinubu to arrest the killings in the region, warning that it could lead to chaos, internecine wars and dismemberment of the country.

The leaders, in an open letter to President Tinubu, said the killings, which they described as ethnic cleansing, threaten the continued existence of Nigeria.

Disturbed by the recent killings of over 200 people across 17 communities in Plateau State, the forum lamented the killings that have been going on in Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina and Niger States for decades.

While noting that the killings were wrongly adduced as herders/farmers clashes, they accused the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of refusing to address the situation, and urged Tinubu not to follow in that direction.

The leaders who signed the letter are Chief Edwin Clark; Chief Ayo Adebanjo, (Leader Afenifere); Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, (president-general, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide); Dr. Pogu Bitrus (president, Middle Belt Forum); and Senator Emmanuel Ibok-Essien (national chairman, PANDEF).

They reiterated the call for the restructuring of the country and urged the president to hold an honest and truthful security inquiry to determine communities wherein the original inhabitants had been displaced in the last two decades and enforce the immediate return and resettlement of the people in their ancestral homes.

They also urged the president to, in no distant future, close all internally displaced persons (IDP) camps “to end the shameful and sinful policy of building such refugee camps for the indigenous peoples while their ancestral homes are allowed to be occupied by the armed invaders.”

The also urged that the security agencies, including the police, the Civil Defence Corps and others, be specially trained and equipped to rise to the challenge as Nigeria is fast becoming a banana or pariah state due to its kid-gloves treatment of terrorism.

The statement reads in part: “That the Nigerian state which fought a war to secure its corporate existence should not allow another internecine war of diverse tribes brought about by its permissive handling of provocative activities of local Fulani militias aided by collaborators from the West African sub-region and the Sahel.

“The desire of the Fulani to be treated as an exclusive race cannot be allowed to continue in a free and egalitarian nation. They should seek land for their trade in the same way other Nigerians buy and manage land and stop this sense of entitlement.

“Urgent steps be taken to restructure Nigeria in line with the tenets of true federalism, to legitimise multi-level policing such that states and communities will provide commensurate security for their people.

“That you, Mr President, should rise to the occasion and dare the powers that be: decisively deal with the perpetrators of the senseless killings, end the massacres, and guarantee the safety of lives and property of citizens in all parts of our country, especially the Middle Belt Region, and restore the dignity of citizens and national pride; for which you will ever be remembered!” (LEADERSHIP)

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