National Assembly Director, Others In Abuja Regain Freedom From Bandits After Two Months
The victims were rescued on April 7 by security operatives in a coordinated effort led by the Nigerian Army and supported by intelligence agencies.
Four residents of the Chikakore community in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have regained their freedom after 72 days in kidnappers’ den.
The victims were rescued on April 7 by security operatives in a coordinated effort led by the Nigerian Army and supported by intelligence agencies.
The victims, including an entire family, were kidnapped on Sunday, January 26, 2025, when armed assailants stormed the Health Centre extension area of Chikakore around 11pm.
The attackers abducted five individuals—Adesiyan Akinropo, his wife, son, their visitor, and a neighbour.
During the attack, a woman was injured after being struck on the head with a gun. She was rushed to the hospital for urgent medical attention.
Residents lamented the slow response of security forces, as police operatives from the Byzahin Division arrived at the scene over an hour after the gunmen had fled.
“The bandits have resumed attacks in Chikakore. We need a police division here in this community. We have land and a five-bedroom apartment already built to accommodate the police, but there is no deployment yet,” a resident told SaharaReporters shortly after the attack.
The FCT Police Command confirmed the attack and stated that an investigation and a search-and-rescue operation were underway.
Tragically, one of the five abducted victims was later found dead. A source revealed that the body was discovered on the roadside in Niger State during the ongoing rescue efforts.
“One of the kidnapped victims is dead. The victim’s body was found on the roadside somewhere in Niger State during the ongoing rescue operation,” the source said.
However, a Deputy Director at the National Assembly Commission, Michael Adesiyan—one of the released family members—on Tuesday recounted his near-death experience in the hideout of the bandits.
The civil servant narrated his ordeal to journalists at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Abuja, where 60 newly rescued kidnapped victims were presented to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Adesiyan described the young age and lack of education of his captors, many of whom he said were between 17 and 21 years old.
“I was chained for 32 days. These boys don’t even know what they’re doing. They can’t count one million naira, yet they were demanding hundreds of millions in ransom,” Adesiyan said.
He appealed to the federal government to adopt a non-violent approach to dealing with the bandit crisis, urging authorities to consider disarmament, rehabilitation, and education for the criminals.
