Man Crawls 500 Metres to Escape as Bandits Kidnap Six Girls, Teen Boy in FCT Community
“A resident of Gidan-Bijimi in Bwari Area Council, FCT, narrowly escaped abduction during a night raid by armed bandits who kidnapped six girls and a 16-year-old boy. Cash was stolen, rooms ransacked, and police collected bullet shells at the scene.”
A resident of the Gidan-Bijimi community in Kawu, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Thomas Wahab Sarki, narrowly escaped abduction during a violent raid by armed bandits that led to the kidnapping of a 16-year-old boy and six young girls.
According to Daily Trust, the gunmen, armed with sophisticated weapons, invaded the community at about 9:37 p.m. on Wednesday. Gidan-Bijimi borders Marke village in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, a corridor known for persistent insecurity.
Sarki, a retired community health worker, said during an interview on Friday that he appeared to be the primary target of the attackers. He revealed that he was at home preparing for the funeral of his late elder brother’s wife, Jummai Tanko, aged 96, whose burial was scheduled for Thursday.
He explained that shortly after dinner—while visitors arrived for the funeral—he left home to buy a recharge card at a nearby shop. On his return, he sat under a tree behind his house to access mobile network coverage. It was at that moment that the attack began.
“I initially thought the first sound I heard was a firecracker thrown by children,” Sarki recounted. “But moments later, I heard another sound, twice. Then I heard men threatening to shoot my son if he tried to escape, and I realized the community was under attack.”
Sarki said he immediately crawled into the nearby bush, covering about 500 metres while observing the unfolding chaos.
“As soon as I discovered they were bandits, I began crawling into the bush. After crawling for about 500 metres, I stayed hidden and watched what was happening,” he said.
During the raid, the attackers surrounded his house. Some of them entered rooms where guests were sleeping and abducted ten women—including six girls and three nursing mothers—as well as a 16-year-old boy. The nursing mothers were later released, but the six girls and the teenage boy were taken away into the bush.
When Sarki returned after the assailants had left, he discovered that his room had been ransacked. He said ₦140,000 belonging to him and ₦1.2 million belonging to his son—money meant for the purchase of a motorcycle the next day—were stolen. He added that bandits also fired shots through a window in his son’s room, though no one was injured.
Mobile policemen from the Kawu division arrived later that night after the bandits had fled with the victims. They documented Sarki’s account and collected spent bullet shells at the scene.
The abducted persons were identified as Blessing Awu, David Ishaya (16), Abigail Kasere, Asabe Joshua, Talatu Jaba, and Agnes Kasare. According to Sarki, the six girls were his relatives who had travelled from Kubacha in Kaduna State to attend the funeral.
