Gunmen attack Abuja estate, kidnap residents

Insecurity won’t mar 2023 general elections, says Arewa House boss

Gunmen, yesterday, attacked Genuine Estate in Gwarimpa, in the heart of Abuja, and kidnapped undisclosed number of persons. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command was slow in confirming the report, but a witness told The Guardian that the gunmen stormed the estate around 04:00a.m. and kidnapped some residents.

The high-brow residential estate is one of the largest in the country’s capital. A taxi driver operating in the axis, who preferred anonymity, explained that the gunmen invaded Genuine Estate, after Efab Queens at 6th Avenue in Gwarimpa, yesterday between 01:00a.m. and 04:00a.m.

FCT Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Josephine Adeh, said: “The attention of the FCT Police Command has been drawn to news making the rounds in some sections of the media space alleging, erroneously, that bandits attacked an estate in Gwarimpa, Abuja, and abducted residents.

“The command wishes to set the records straight that on June 6, 2022, a distress call was received from Queens Efab Estate, Kasana, Galadima Area, that there was an armed robbery operation. Operatives of the command attached to Galadima Divisional Headquarters swiftly responded and, upon arrival at the estate, the robbers took to their heels.” She added that the operatives gave them a chase, which led to them abandoning some items they had already stolen including some phones and laptops.

DESPITE the security challenges in the country, the 2023 general elections will be conducted smoothly, says the Director of Arewa House, Centre for Historical Documentation of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Dr. Shuaibu Ali.

According to Ali, Nigeria has passed through turbulent moments in the past but came out stronger. Speaking at a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, in a build up to a symposium on June 11, to address insecurity in the country, he explained that the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Yusuf Buratai, would deliver a paper on ‘Politics and Insecurity in Nigeria: The Way Forward’, which will be chaired by Governor of Borno State, Umar Zulum.

The symposium is expected to address security challenges in the country, especially as the country is approaching general elections. The director said aside Buratai and Zulum, other personalities and discussants at the occasion include, Prof. Sadique Mohammed of the Political Science Department, ABU; Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, as well as officials of Department of State Services (DSS) and National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).