• Abducted residents in Abuja still in captivity, police mute
• Gunmen kidnap Catholic priest in Yola
No fewer than 46 persons, including vigilante, operatives, have been killed in Zurak village, Bashar District of Wase Local Council of Plateau State, injuring others in the community.
In Abuja, abducted residents of Dawaki area are still languishing in the hands of their captors, The Guardian has learnt.
Meanwhile, gunmen kidnapped Fr Oliver Buba, serving with the Yola Catholic Diocese, in the early hours of yesterday.
He was taken away from the reverend father’s rectory at St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Bare, in Numan Local Council of Adamawa State.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Bishop of Yola Catholic Diocese, Dr Stephen Mamza, who invited all Christian faithful, as well as men and women of goodwill, to pray for the quick and safe release of the priest.
The Plateau attack was carried out by gunmen, who also razed houses.
According to residents of the community, the incident occurred around 7.00 p.m. on Monday when people were going about their normal activities, but they could not report the incident due to the poor communication network in the area.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Alabo Alfred, has yet to respond to the inquiry by journalists, yesterday, as it was assumed that the command had moved to Wase, the scene of the incident.
A spokesman for the Special Task Force, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Major Samson Zhakom, could not respond to the calls by journalists.
An Abuja resident confided in The Guardian that the victims had not been released.
In a new wave of kidnappings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), no fewer than 20 residents of Dawaki, a community near Kubwa, were reportedly abducted.
Before security personnel responded to distress calls, the kidnappers reportedly raided houses on Frank Opara Street in the community.
Chairman of Dawaki Rock Heaven Community, Tunde Abdulrahim, stated that the incident happened at 7.30 p.m. on Sunday.
Abdulrahim said the armed men, numbering about 50, invaded the community and broke into about six houses.
In response to the incident, SP Josephine Adeh, spokesperson for the FCT police command, said Police Commissioner, Benneth Igweh, immediately led policemen to the scene and engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle. She insisted that the kidnapping was foiled.
