Suspected bandits invaded Ehwakya in Ugom community, Maro Ward, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing one person and abducting many others.
According to the chairman of Ugom community, Ishaya Onnusim, “At the time of releasing this statement, one youth, Saminu Linus Emmanuel, has been confirmed dead by gunshot. Our people were kidnapped in sizable numbers yet to be fully identified; victims include the young, the elderly, and mostly our vulnerable women, who are now in the custody of the attackers.”
He explained that before leaving the community, the bandits also ensured that all available valuable items were looted.
Onnusim stated that the kidnappings took place within Ehwakya (Ungwar Sarki of Ugom community) and at another location near the railway line after Gwando, along the main road towards the Kufana axis. He said the attackers shouted “Allahu Akbar”, while some of them openly claimed that Nigerian security agencies could not do anything to them.
He added that the bandits further stated that if the community wanted peace, its people must comply with their demands to vacate their own land; otherwise, they would continue terrorising the area until the residents succumbed.
Onnusim called on the government to urgently intervene across the entire Ugom community before its people are completely eliminated, noting that three sections of the community have been sacked by the terrorists, leaving residents with nowhere to go.
The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mansir Hussaini, could not be reached for comment on the incident.