Gunmen yet to be identified have kidnapped no fewer than 22 persons in a community within Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Police authorities in FCT confirmed the incident on Friday, explaining that the attack took place within Rafin Daji, a boundary community Between Niger State and the FCT.
According to acting FCT police spokesman, Oduniyi Omotayo, the gunmen attacked the community at the time farmers were cultivating their farm land.
“The farmers were on their farmland working when gunmen outnumbered and kidnapped them,” he told Channels Television in a brief WhatsApp message.
Omotayo refused to give details regarding the attack and those who were abducted.
He, meanwhile, said that a combined team of security personnel had been deployed to the area and are combing for traces of the abductors in orde bring them to book and rescue the abductees.
According to eyewitnesses report, the gunmen shot sporadically when they invaded the community, fortunately, no lives were lost.
The criminals abducted 22 farmers, burnt down two tractors belonging to the owner of a large farm in the area.
Among those kidnapped include 13 members of a family.
A relative of some of the victims, Engineer Ibrahim Barde said his immediate younger brothers and their families who were on their farms had barely finished their work when the gunmen attacked.
“They were 13 of them on the farm including seven children between the ages of 15 and 17, three women; one just got married last year and an aged woman, my brothers and the tractor driver,” he said.
The names of some of his relative kidnapped he listed as: “Ismaila Barde, Mustapha Barde, Nasiru Barde, Abdulkarim Barde, Sanusi Barde, Usman Barde, Nura Barde, Abdullahi Barde, Babawo Barde, Farida Ayuba, Hauwa Ayuba and Husai Abdullahi.
He said the gunmen had contacted his family but were yet to make demands.
“They were asking us how many of our families were abducted. We didn’t tell them because we suspected they were trying to fish out a particular family. But they have not stated their demands yet,” he said.