Richard Obudu, 24, was surfing the internet at about 11 p.m.in his room in Guto, a sleepy community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), last Wednesday, when suddenly he started hearing the dreadful sounds of heavy gunshots.
Curious, he decided to peek through the small sliding window of the self-contained apartment where he stays with his pregnant sister and husband.
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What he saw next nearly cost him his life.
“I went to the toilet to see what was going on. There was light there,” Mr Obudu told PREMIUM TIMES, pointing at the lamp at the back of the house, which was facing the main house that was said to be the target.
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“I started opening the window gradually, and saw one of them holding a gun. The moment he saw the window, he fired three shots directly at me. Thank God I wasn’t hit. I lay down straight,” he added even as he pointed to the bullet holes on the wall.
On Thursday, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command reported that about 30 armed men invaded Guto, a border community in the Bwari Area Council, Abuja, to kidnap a resident and his family.
The police indicated that during the operation, it lost one officer, while two of the suspected kidnappers were killed.
Although the Force did not give the details of the attack, PREMIUM TIMES was told during a visit to the community on Friday that the kidnappers operated by sieging the environment, wielding heavy guns.
Residents disclosed that every building in the area, especially those closer to the targeted house, and the main road leading to the environment, was occupied and under strict monitoring by the heavily armed men, while others attempted to force themselves inside a house belonging to one Mr Paul, a personnel of the State Security Services (SSS).
This newspaper could not, however, reach the family for comments.
“My neighbour called me and told me silently that one of them was standing in front of our house. When I decided to peek through the window, I saw one of them, very young. standing with a big gun. They were everywhere,” the wife of Samuel Matthew, the chairperson of the community, narrated.
“Two were standing there and there (pointing at the edges of the building). They made sure at least two individuals were standing at our house to monitor movement. I had the movement of their legs,” Mimi Jacob, Mr Obudu’s neighbour, recounted.
“Myself, my husband and our six children, and I lay down and covered ourselves with our bed. Because they were firing everywhere. The sound of the guns was shaking our window,” she added.
‘Like four (of the gunmen) were in the bush there around that house, like six went to the road and were shooting sporadically,” Mr Obudu said, adding that aside from the one who shot at him, he saw others behind the attacker.
“I am very sure they came from the main road because before they started shooting, I heard heavy footsteps and movement from that main road. It was obvious they came for him,” he added.
The attack, according to residents, lasted for about two hours before the police came and engaged the gunmen in a shootout at about 1 a.m. on Thursday.
Not the first time
Some residents who spoke with the PREMIUM TIMES said Wednesday’s attack was not the first in the community. They said there had been previous attacks or kidnappings at Mr Paul’s residence.
A neighbour who did not want to be mentioned for fear of being attacked said that “around June/July last year, two of his female maids were kidnapped, but they later escaped when the kidnappers fell asleep on their way. They were found at Sabon Wuse, in Kaduna State.”
“Yes, it is true, but the attack was not much like this,” Mrs Matthew, the chairman’s wife, concurred.
Another resident, Suliyat Abduraseed, said after last year’s attack, two police officers were deployed to the SSS personnel house and have been guarding it, adding that one of them was killed during Wednesday’s raid.
“After the incident, they gave them two police officers and also police in their van always patrol the environment every night. They will shoot two guns into the air whenever they come to inform us that they are around. We call the officer who died, Mopol,” Mrs Suliyat narrated.
Bwari attacks
In previous years and months, the Bwari Area Councils have had consistent reports of security issues ranging from kidnappings to armed robbery incidents. It is believed to be one of the most attacked environments in Abuja.
Some reports in previous years also indicated how residents of the area fled because of the issues.
“We were supposed to come here before last year, but because of the security issue, we stopped. We just got here around February last year. And if you look around, this community has the tendency to develop, but when you look around, you will see a lot of abandoned houses or incomplete ones. The people are scared to come here because of the issue,” tMrs Matthew said.
“I think this is the first attack this year, but there were some kidnapping incidents last year, too.” Mrs Suliyat added.
Residents fleeing
According to residents, these incidents have further hindered the development of the area. They said that some of their neighbours fled the community in the morning after the latest incident, while more are still planning to do so.
It was also gathered that Mr Paul has also been advised to leave the area to forestall further attacks on his residence.
Meanwhile, some of the residents debunked the claim that some of them were killed by the police, though they commended the operation.
READ ALSO: One officer killed as police battle gunmen in Abuja community Official
“No, none of the kidnappers were killed. If they kill any, we will see it, look around yourself, do you see any traces?” Richard said.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Babayola Mohammed, declined to speak on the matter when PREMIUM TIMES visited the Bwari Police Division on Thursday.
“As a professional, you should know that it is only the Force PRO that can talk about this,” Mr Mohammed said.
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