Bandits kidnap 30 villagers in Kaduna, return to Kuriga 5 days after

About 30 villagers have been taken hostage by suspected bandits in Budah village of Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Daily Trust gathered that heavily armed bandits raided the small settlement on Monday night and abducted the villagers.

Although no casualties were reported, the bandits forced the victims into the forest and disappeared without a trace.

On same Monday night,  residents of Kuriga town in neighbouring Chikun Local government area of  the state, where  bandits kidnapped 287 primary and junior secondary school pupils last week, are left in fear as the criminals returned to the scene of their crime.

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Ben Yuhana, a local youth leader in Budah, who spoke to Daily Trust, expressed deep concern over the latest abduction, describing it as alarming.

He said, “The bandits rounded up the victims and led them into the bush like animals. Fortunately, no lives were lost. It’s really unfortunate,’ he lamented.

Ben highlighted the deteriorating security situation in the area and urged the authorities to take swift action.

Efforts to reach the police command, particularly the public relations officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, were unsuccessful. Phone calls did not connect and a text message sent via WhatsApp was unacknowledged.

The latest abduction came days after bandits kidnapped 287 school children in Kuriga village in Chikun Local Government Area of the state. Both Chikun and Kajuru share borders and are among the nine LGAs in the state with serious security challenges.

Our correspondent gathered that the bandits revisiting Kuriga, rode on their motorcycles heavily armed, and parked at the old secondary school on the outskirts of the community on Monday night.

However, it was not clear whether they were the same gang that abducted the schoolchildren or a different group.

Nasiru Zakari Yau, one of the youth leaders, told Daily Trust that they were all scared when they saw the bandits in the community and couldn’t make calls because of the poor telecommunication network.

He said, “They came back on their motorcycles and gathered at the abandoned old secondary school building at the entrance of the town. We don’t know what their mission is, but we were all scared, though we were brave enough to protect our community because we don’t have security agencies here. Please help us to contact the relevant authorities.”

Again, ASP Hassan couldn’t be reached on phone.