Gunmen kill security guard, kidnap four people in Abuja

Gunmen attacked Paze community in the Byazhin area of Kubwa, Abuja, early yesterday. They killed a local vigilante and abducted four residents, including a pastor.

The attackers, said to be about eight, shot dead Shuaibu Yerima, who was protecting the area known as the "Back of Catholic Church."

The gunmen took Pastor Francis Oriade from the All Christian Fellowship Mission in Maitama, Abuja, along with Jewel Obeh, Friday Isaac, and an 11-year-old boy named Delight Okeke.

This attack happened less than a week after bandits invaded Kungabokun community nearby and kidnapped a resident on Sunday.

Emmanuel Isaac, the younger brother of one of the kidnapped victims, said he noticed the attackers shortly after midnight. He heard a gunshot believed to have killed the security guard.

"We saw them coming into our premises, with about four of them carrying guns. One of them was wearing a mask. We tried to escape through a back door, but they caught us and made us go back inside the house."

“They tied my hands and that of my elder brother, then told me to go with them. My brother begged them to take him instead, and they agreed."

"About 10 minutes after they left, the police arrived with an armoured van and a Sienna car. We asked them to chase the kidnappers in the direction they went, but they refused, saying they would go another way," Isaac said. He recently moved into a new house that is not yet furnished.

Elizabeth Oriade, the younger sister of Pastor Oriade, shared her experience. She said the gunmen broke into their home through a window after failing to open the door.

"We heard gunshots around midnight and they came into our homes about 20 minutes later. They dragged the pastor from his room, hitting him as they said he made them suffer for not opening his door fast enough."

"They tore one of our wrappers and tied our hands with it. They took our phones and some cash before taking him away," she said.

Joy Alex, whose husband Jewel Obeh was taken, talked about her night. She spent over an hour looking for the house key that night.

"I was at our family shop until about 11pm, searching for the key. I told my husband to stay in a hotel, and my daughter finally found the key. Just an hour after he returned, we saw the gunmen. They pulled a window off our house with tools."

"Two of them jumped in and told us to open the door. At first, they wanted to take my daughter, but then they decided to take my husband instead," she said sadly.

Erenta Okeke, mother of the kidnapped 11-year-old boy, shared her fear. The gunmen broke into her home through a window and pointed a gun at her.

"My husband was not home, so they decided to take my little son after I begged them to spare his younger sister, who was very scared throughout the ordeal," she recalled.

Residents said the vigilante was shot in the leg but bled to death because help came too late. He was buried yesterday after prayers at the chief of Ijayapi's palace in Byazhin community.

The FCT Police Command spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, promised to look into the situation but had not updated the public by the time this report was written. Officers at the Byazhin Police Division were seen meeting with some community members about the attack when our reporter visited.

A senior police officer at the Byazhin Divisional Headquarters confirmed the incident, stating that police are trying to find the kidnappers.