By Our Correspondent
Bandits have killed six residents and abducted nine others, including three children, in Akwondo community, Kachia Local Government Area of Southern Kaduna.
A community member, Garba Tanimu, said the attackers first stormed the area, shooting sporadically and killing six people who were resting under a tree. He explained that the assailants returned hours later at about 10:12 p.m. and carried out the abduction.
According to Tanimu, six adult males and three children aged between 12 and 15 were taken during the second attack. He said the gunmen, armed with AK-47 rifles, invaded two houses belonging to Muazu Shehu and Bala Ya’u and forcefully dragged the victims into the bush amid gunfire.
He added that the bandits escaped through the Maraban Wolijo axis, which links the community to Kachia town.
Tanimu said the attackers operated with little resistance because the six men killed earlier were those who usually confronted the bandits and pursued them during rescue efforts.
“The reason the bandits operated so freely when they returned was that they had already succeeded in killing the six young men who usually pursued them to rescue abducted victims,” he said. “They felt comfortable enough to come back and take more people.”
A community leader, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also confirmed the abduction. He said Akwondo has remained under constant threat since November last year.
“The community is under siege,” he said. “Those six young men were the ones who always prevented these bandits from abducting our people. Now that they are gone, we are vulnerable.”
The community leader said the abductors were yet to make contact and appealed to security agencies to intervene and secure the release of the victims.
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the Kaduna State Police Command were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
