A joint security team from the Federal Capital Territory (CT) has rescued seven people who were kidnapped after engaging in a shootout with suspected bandits near Mpape, Abuja, and Kagarko LGA, which borders the FCT and Kaduna State.
The FCT Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Miller Dantawaye, told reporters at the weekend that the operation was conducted based on credible intelligence as joint forces traced the suspects from the Mpape area to the bandits’ hideout close to Kagarko.
He said the bandits opened fire on the operatives, which included the DSS, soldiers and anti-kidnapping police officers, leading to a gun battle which made the bandits to abandon their camp as they were outmatched by the firepower of the operatives, resulting in the rescue of six abducted people from the camp, adding that the seventh victim escaped on his own during the chaos.
The CP explained that the command received a distress call on Friday that armed men had invaded a community in Ushafa and abducted several residents, which he said prompted the security operatives to swiftly respond and engage the bandits at their hideout.
He further said that all the rescued victims were immediately taken to the hospital.
He called on hospitals and healthcare providers to be vigilant and report anyone presenting with suspicious injuries to the FCT police through the command’s emergency numbers: 08061581938 and 08032003913.
