A harrowing incident unfolded in the Kajuru Station community of Kaduna State as bandits launched a brazen attack, abducting 87 individuals and pillaging shops and homes.
The attack occurred on Sunday night, just a day after 14 people were kidnapped by bandits at Dogon Noma community also within Kajuru Local Government Area.
While authorities are yet to officially confirm the attack, Ibrahim Gajere, Chairman of Kajuru Local Government Area, confirmed to Channels Television that bandits invaded the Kajuru Station community at about 9: 00 pm on Sunday night, and took away many residents.
Gajere lamented the pervasive fear and panic gripping Kajuru due to recurrent assaults by bandits.
Kajuru and Chikun local government areas have become hotbeds of banditry, with recent incidents including the high-profile abduction of 287 students from Kuriga community in Chikun.
Following an upsurge in the kidnap cases, the Chief Of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, arrived at the state government house on Monday, to meet with Governor Uba Sani.
During their meeting, General Musa reassured the affected communities, promising swift action to rescue the abducted individuals.
In his address, General Musa emphasized solidarity with the beleaguered communities, attributing the security challenges to forces opposed to national development. He rallied support for the ongoing efforts to restore peace and security in Kaduna and across the North West zone.
“We are here to show solidarity to this community so that you would know that whatever you are going through, we are also going through it. We assure you that God Almighty is on our side, and whatever we are going through is just temporal. And the problem is as a result of people who don’t want development for this country so that development would take place. We are working tirelessly to make sure that all those kidnapped will be safeguarded and brought out as quickly as possible,” he said.
While speaking earlier, Governor Sani said the state was getting support from both the army and police.
“We will ensure that we beef up security in Kuriga community. We are getting a lot of support from security agencies, from both police and army,” Governor Sani said during the meeting.
