A fresh wave of bandit violence has struck Kaduna State, Nigeria, with armed men abducting ten people — seven members of the same family and three neighbours — from a densely populated residential area in the early hours of Thursday evening.
The attack occurred at Unguwar Sabon-Titi along the Katari-Hayin Dam road in Kachia Local Government Area. A resident who witnessed the aftermath, Mr. Markus Yakubu, told reporters the bandits struck around 9:32 PM, moving with a discipline and coordination that suggested prior intelligence about the area.
**A Quiet Invasion**
Unlike previous bandit attacks in the region characterised by heavy gunfire and widespread destruction, Yakubu said this group entered with unusual stealth. “The bandits came in a large number and surrounded my neighbour’s house before some of them entered the compound and whisked away people, who are all members of one family,” he recounted. “They later proceeded to the next house and carried three more people.”
The bandits operated quietly without initial gunfire, only opening fire once they had moved their victims out of the town area. Yakubu attributed their caution to the proximity of the local Divisional Police Officer’s residence. “The house of the DPO of Katari is close to the house the bandits attacked, which I believe is why they didn’t shoot in order not to attract his attention,” he said.
**Community Left Vulnerable**
Among those abducted from the family are Jummai Amos, Barnabas Amos, Iko Amos, Baby Amos, Eunice Amos, Eshiwan Amos, and Godwin Amos. The three neighbours taken from the adjacent property are Bagudu Damisa, Evelyn Damisa, and Alfred Iriyo.
A community leader who spoke anonymously said he received a distress call during the attack but found security emergency lines unreachable. “The very moment I received the call that bandits had invaded two houses at Unguwar Sabon-Titi, I quickly tried to reach out to security operatives but their numbers are not connecting,” he said.
By Friday morning, neighbours had begun arriving at the affected households to sympathise with the families, in a community still reeling from the scale of the overnight violence.
A security source confirmed the abduction and said security operatives were conducting forest combing operations to locate the bandits and rescue the victims alive. The spokesperson for the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Hassan Mansur, did not respond to calls or text messages seeking comment.
Kaduna State has been among the hardest hit by banditry and kidnapping-for-ransom attacks over recent years, with armed groups operating with relative impunity across large stretches of the state’s rural local government areas.
*Source: Daily Trust / AllAfrica*