Bandits targeted Dan-Honu II community in New Millennium City, Chikun local government area of Kaduna State, kidnapping eight individuals, including a newlywed couple married last Saturday, the imam of the community mosque, his wife, and three children, including a 10-month-old baby,leadership reports.
Approximately 10 armed bandits, equipped with AK47 rifles and other dangerous weapons, clad in black attire, with one masked, infiltrated the community around 8:50 pm. A resident named Mohammed, who narrowly escaped abduction, recounted the harrowing experience. The bandits initially seized the imam and his family, encountered outside the Juma’at Mosque, then proceeded to a four-flats compound where they took the newly married couple.
Mohammed described the bandits attempting to force entry into his apartment after dealing with the new couple. Realizing they were kidnappers, he noted the vigilantes’ intervention, firing a shot into the air, which made the bandits uneasy and prompted them to leave the compound.
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Notably, the imam, Malam Suleiman, and his neighbor, Malam Musa, who were seized while relaxing outside the Mosque, managed to escape as they were being led into the bush. The new bride, who recently underwent surgery, was abandoned in the bush due to her inability to keep up with the bandits’ pace. The imam’s wife was released when her baby’s cry risked exposing the bandits to vigilantes.
The bandits successfully abducted the new groom, identified as Ibrahim, and two of the imam’s children (15-year-old Abba and his younger brother). As of the report’s filing, there was no established contact with the family.
Imam Suleiman detailed the bandits’ weaponry, noting two armed with AK47 rifles with a chain of bullets, while others carried axes, machetes, and sticks. The military and police, from the Millennium Strike Force and the local police division, arrived minutes after the bandits led their captives into the bush.
Efforts to confirm the incident with the Kaduna command spokesperson, ASP Mansir Hassan, were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
