Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have raided Zhibi, a community neighbouring Dei-Dei town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) but located in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State.

Abuja Metro learnt that the attackers abducted a businessman, Muhammad Shuaibu, along with his two daughters — a 200-level university student and her younger sister.

A member of the family told Abuja Metro that the assailants broke into the victim’s home around 12am on Friday through the backyard door after destroying a burglar-proof padlock.

“They did the same thing in the room where the wife of the family head was sleeping. She woke up suddenly to see them inside her room, so she quickly ran toward her husband’s room,” the source recounted.

The source added, “They summoned all the family members to the sitting room, threatening to take all of them. But the wife knelt down and kept pleading with them to spare her baby. That made them spare her and the baby.”

According to the source, the attackers seized the mobile phones of the man and his wife and also demanded foodstuffs, which were not available in the house.

He said the police outpost in the area has only a few personnel, and efforts to get a response from the Dei-Dei Division did not yield any result, as, according to him, they always insist that they are under the FCT command, while the area falls within Niger State.

It was further learnt that no communication had been established between the kidnappers and the victims’ relatives as of Monday afternoon when our reporter visited the residence.

The Police Area Commander in Suleja, Muhammad Sani Musa, did not respond to phone calls made by our reporter on Monday.

However, a police source in the area confirmed the attack, adding that efforts were ongoing to track the abductors. (Daily Trust)