Abuja fast becoming most dangerous place in Nigeria—HURIWA

Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group: Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has described as absolutely intolerable and disturbing the information recently that thirteen persons have been kidnapped from Piko, a remote community in Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by suspected gunmen, during a stealth invasion that caught vigilance group and other security agencies unawares.

HURIWA quoted a media source in the community as disclosing on Tuesday that the Maidakin of the community, Chief John Jatau, confirmed that 10 residents were kidnapped, including four nomadic Fulani herdsmen. However, one of the nomads escaped from the kidnappers’ custody.

He listed the following as people kidnapped and still in the captivity of the abductors: Nuhu Anyiwoyi, Emmanuel Nuhu, Danjuma Ali, Parisa Numa, Ezekiel Jatau, Shekwosa Ezekiel, Roseline Samuel, Salome Jacob, Abyelo Ezr and Ezra Male.

It was also gathered that the kidnappers have placed N900 million ransom on the victims.

“The kidnapping incident occurred on Sunday at about 11pm. The kidnappers raided the village for about one hour without any response, reaction from the community or outsiders. The major challenge the community faced last night in terms of communication to others was as a result of no telecommunication network in the village. So they picked people house to house. From the community they picked about 13 people and later released three.

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“The Madakin Piko informed me that they have called and they said they need the ransom of N900 million. They picked about four Fulani people and one of them was released,” the source said, as cited by HURIWA in a media statement endorsed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko on Thursday.

HURIWA said the fact that terrorists,  kidnappers, 1-chance armed hoodlums and all genres of non-state actors are having field days, killing, maiming, kidnapping and intimidating residents of the nation’s Capital has made it inevitable that the President should declare a state of security emergency so dedicated teams of well trained, well resourced and well equipped joint armed security forces are deployed on the 6 area councils of the Federal Capital Territory to quell these acts of criminality that have threatened peace, stability and security of the nation’s Capital.

“It is such a crying shame that kidnappers, 1-chance armed gangs and terrorists are now committing brazen atrocities right inside the metropolis of the FCT shows that the architecture of the FCT security has spectacularly collapsed therefore demanding a huge surgical military cum police actions to stamp out the hydra-headed beast of wanton violence and incessant attacks against soft civilian targets of the FCT.