Armed bandits have abducted a 16-year-old boy and six young girls from Gidan-Bijimi in Kawu ward, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
Gidan-Bijimi is a border community sharing a boundary with Marke village near the Kaduna State border.
A resident of Kawu, Suleiman Shuaibu, confirmed the incident to reporters via telephone on Thursday morning.
He said the bandits, armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed two houses in the community at about 9:47 p.m., shooting sporadically before whisking away the victims.
According to him, the attack threw the community into panic as residents scampered for safety.
Shuaibu disclosed that local vigilantes tried to repel the attack but were overpowered by the bandits’ superior firepower.
He added that the abducted girls are aged between 17 and 23.
“It was around 9:53 p.m. when a call came from Gidan-Bijimi community that some bandits invaded the village and abducted six young girls; unfortunately, my cousin happened to be among the victims,” he said.
He further stated that some residents fled their homes after the incident, adding that contact had yet to be established with the abductors as of the time of filing this report.