Insecurity Rises in Abuja as Gunmen Abduct Motorists and Passengers Near Military Barracks.
By Our Correspondent, Abuja
A distressing wave of abductions has resurfaced in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, following a recent incident involving gunmen who kidnapped an undetermined number of motorists and passengers near the Abacha Barracks bypass in Guzape on the night of February 25.
The attack, which occurred around 11:31 PM, has escalated concerns among residents amid increasing insecurity plaguing the nation’s capital.
This incident is part of a troubling pattern, following a series of abductions in Bwari, Kuje, and Gwagwalada, where armed gangs have targeted individuals, including schoolchildren and unsuspecting commuters.
According to police intelligence sources who spoke to Zagazola Makama, law enforcement officers responding to distress calls discovered two abandoned vehicles at the scene: a black Toyota Prado Land Cruiser, registered FCT RBC 900 SF and purportedly belonging to Hon. Shagala Samuel, as well as a Honda Civic with registration number RSH 181 TH. Initial investigations suggest that the occupants of these vehicles may have been taken by the assailants.
“The response team immediately launched a search in the surrounding areas and nearby bushland; however, no contact was established with either the victims or the kidnappers,” the source stated.
To date, efforts to apprehend the perpetrators have proven difficult, with ongoing patrols seeing little success in locating the victims or the suspects.
In light of the attack, security measures have been heightened across key entry and exit points in the FCT, and the abandoned vehicles have been seized for further examination.
The Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the FCT Police Command is reportedly intensifying its search for the missing individuals while also working to capture those responsible for this alarming rise in kidnappings.
This latest event marks a continuation of increasingly audacious criminal activities within Abuja, as offenders capitalize on weaknesses in the existing security framework. In a notable instance in January, armed groups kidnapped more than a dozen residents in the Bwari region, demanding significant ransoms, while the Kuje area experienced similar distressing incidents that left families grappling with the aftermath of these crimes.
