Residents abandon homes over kidnapping in Abuja council
Following incessant cases of kidnapping by gunmen in Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), fear has gripped some residents of the area. As a result, some of them have abandoned their homes and relocated to other areas.
The kidnappers had, in the past weeks, launched deadly attacks on residents of Anguwar Hausawa and Kekeshi communities of the council, abducting some residents.
Though the police and members of the vigilante group in the area had foiled three different kidnap attempts in which two of the kidnappers met their waterloo in a shootout at Naharati and Kekeshi in the area, they have not relented in their attacks.
Last Thursday, simultaneous attacks by the kidnappers on senior staff quarters in Naharati and a Fulani settlement at Kekeshi had thrown residents into pandemonium, forcing some of them to relocate.
Daily Trust gathered that top serving civil servants and some retired civil servants, as well as politicians, are among those who have relocated from the town.
A resident of Anguwar Hausawa in Naharati, Ibrahim Saleh, a pretty trader, said he decided to move his family to Abaji town for fear of being kidnapped.
He said he would rather pass the night in Abaji metropolis and go back to his house at Naharati during the daytime.
“You know Anguwar Hausawa has suffered several attacks by kidnappers. You can also remember that recently, two of the kidnappers were killed, yet they abducted four residents, who are still in captivity,” he said.
A teacher, identified as Mrs Christiana, who resides in Anguwar Sabon Tasha, said last Thursday’s attack forced her to relocate from the area for fear of being kidnapped.
“Though the attack was carried out at the senior staff quarters, the sound of their guns that night alone made me to develop high blood pressure; hence I have to relocate,” she said.
Another resident of Kekeshi community, Edward Musa, also said he was forced to relocate with his family because of the frequent attacks.
He said he had rented a two-bedroom apartment for his family around the Abbatoir area, even as he said his house rent at Kekeshi would expire by November 2021.
A retired civil servant who craved anonymity, said he couldn't cope with the incessant attacks by the kidnappers; hence he decided to relocate.
“I just retired last year, and I realised that with the way the kidnappers are attacking residents, it is not safe for me and my family and I have to relocate,” he said.
The spokesperson of the FCT police command, ASP Maryam Yusuf, did not pick calls or reply to a text message sent to her phone to ascertain security measures put in place to tackle the spate of kidnapping in the area.
The Prime Diamond Initiative for Community Health (PDICH), in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command of the Nigeria Police Force, and Project Pink Blue (PPB), has trained 61 female police officers on sexual reproductive health rights.
They were also trained on breast and cervical cancer prevention, menstrual hygiene and gender-based violence.
The training titled, ‘Women’s health is everyone’s health,’ was in commemoration of the International Women’s Day.