John Shiklam in Kaduna
Three women, including two nursing mothers and a teenage girl have been abducted in Damishi community, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The incident was said to have occurred last Wednesday night when gunmen numbering about 40 invaded the community.
Residents of the community said the hoodlums were armed with AK47 rifles, adding that the village had been under constant attack by gunmen who abduct people for ransom.
One of the residents, who simply identified himself as Abraham, said in an interview that the bandits came to abduct a Catholic priest in the community, but the clergy man was not at home.
According to him, “When the gunmen did not meet their target, they stormed a hotel in the community, where some residents normally go to sleep at night for fear of the bandits.”
He said those abducted included two nursing mothers with their babies and a teenage girl.
Abraham said: “Because of the incessant abductions in the community, people pay for rooms in the hotel for their families to sleep at night.
He alleged that security personnel were overwhelmed by the bandits and had to turn back.
Abraham said other residents, including him, had relocated their families to Kaduna metropolis due to the persistent abductions in the area.
According to him, many people in the community which is about six kilometres away from Kaduna city, no longer sleep in their houses.
He said: “Rarely a week passes without somebody being abducted by gunmen in Damishi and neighbouring communities.
Some of us were living in Kaduna metropolis, we bought land and built our houses here, but with the current security situation, I have moved my family to our family house in Kaduna pending when I get a place to rent.”
He added that “the community has been under siege by bandits for a long time despite the proximity to Kaduna metropolis.”
