The late Nigerian Army Brigadier General Dzarma Zurkusu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, are both from the affected community.

In response to the development, Garaha’s community leader, Hon Hyella, stated that many deserted the community to avoid being caught.

He said, “There are only seven persons left in Kwapre now; the rest have relocated to either Hong or Pella.

“People have justifiable reasons to run for their lives because 52 persons were abducted in April this year and only eight persons have returned home since then. Now that there’s a buildup of a heavy presence of suspected bandits in the area again; the people have to run for their lives.

“People have to run because kidnappings happen daily. The bandits have begun to tax villagers; so far they’ve taxed Dabna, Sushiu, Lar, and many villages within the Duguba district to pay safety levies.”

The attack was confirmed by the spokesman of the state police command, Suleiman Nguroje.

He said, “Yes, there’s a kidnap scare around those villages. Of course, it’s normal for people to be scared. But the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ahmed Barde, has directed the deployment of troops to safeguard the areas.”