By Ade Oyeyemi
A resident was killed while nine others were abducted when suspected bandits attacked Babban Saura (PW) community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State in the early hours of Thursday.
The incident occurred as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence Anniversary.
The attackers reportedly raided three houses in the community, taking away residents before fleeing the area.
A community source who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria said the assailants began the operation by breaking into the home of an elderly resident, from where they abducted two of his children.
They later moved to another residence belonging to a man identified as Sikiru.
According to the source, the attackers broke through the fence and entered the compound before forcing their way into Sikiru’s parlour.
Sikiru reportedly resisted the intruders and struggled with some of them before he was shot dead.
The attackers subsequently abducted his wife and two children, the source said.
The gunmen also invaded a nearby house and kidnapped a woman, Maman Mubarak, alongside her four children.
Mubarak was later rescued after soldiers and local vigilantes pursued the attackers, but her four children remained in captivity.
Confirming the incident, the local vigilante commander, Usman Adamu, said nine people were initially abducted during the attack.
Adamu said the vigilantes received a distress call and alerted soldiers, who joined them in tracking the attackers.
“We received a distress call that bandits had entered Babban Saura PW, and so we informed soldiers who joined us.
“We traced them to the Eastern Bypass area and succeeded in rescuing a woman, Maman Mubarak, whose four children were among those kidnapped,” he said.
He said security personnel attempted to rescue the remaining victims but the attackers escaped with them.
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A resident, identified as Anas, also said Sikiru contacted him after the attackers invaded the community.
Security agencies had yet to announce the arrest of any suspect in connection with the attack as of the time of filing the report.
