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The wave of banditry plaguing communities in the nation’s capital, Abuja, persisted on Thursday as Kawu village in Bwari Area Council fell victim to a brazen attack, resulting in the alleged abduction of 23 individuals. Despite being an FCT village that shares boundaries with Niger and Kaduna states, Kawu had not been on the bandits’ radar in recent times.
However, this assault stresses the unpredictable and escalating threat posed by these criminal elements in the North Central region.
Approximately 40 gunmen executed a well-coordinated and multi-pronged assault on Kawu village, strategically dividing themselves into groups for maximum impact.
Deputy Leader of the Bwari Area Council Legislative arm, Abdulmumini Zakari, reported that the gunmen had infiltrated the community from the Kuyeri Forest in Kaduna State a day earlier. The assailants targeted various locations, including the palace of the district head, where they abducted the son and wife of Alhaji Abdurrahman Danjuma Ali.
The violence extended to the compound of Alhaji Alhassan Sidi Kawu, the Marafa of Kawu, and a former PDP Chairman, where the bandits abducted him and his four children.
Further chaos unfolded as the bandits entered the compound of Sarkin Pawan Kawu, Gambo Pawa, seizing him alongside his two wives and several children. This disturbing incident highlighted the audacity and brutality of the banditry prevailing in the Bwari area, overshadowing the relative reduction in activities observed in Kuje, Kwali, and Abaji since December of the previous year. The security challenges in Abuja’s outskirts call for urgent and concerted efforts to curb banditry, protect vulnerable communities, and restore a sense of security in the nation’s capital.
