Bandits have abducted 22 locals in separate attacks on the Kugauta community in Kusheka and the Kitanda community in Geshere, both within Kumana Chiefdom in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to a source, the bandits stormed the two communities in separate attacks on Friday at about 10:30 pm, kidnapping 22 locals, mostly women and children.
He explained, “The 12 locals were kidnapped in the Kitanda community of Geshere, Kumana Chiefdom, while 10 locals were also whisked away in the Kugauta community of Kusheka, Kumana Chiefdom”.
He noted that despite the escalating kidnapping by bandits and other criminal elements, only three policemen were seen in the community and neighbouring villages.
The source further explained that the communities and surrounding villages have witnessed incessant attacks by terrorists, leading to killings and abduction of villagers on a daily basis.
He confessed that the police officers manning the communities cannot secure the villages, appealing to government to send security personnel to help curb the security challenges the villagers are faced with.
According to him, “Most locals were forced to leave their villages as a result of the escalating kidnapping and killings of our loved ones. Over N60 million have been paid as ransom while many are still in the kidnappers’ custody.”
He stated that they are also facing an infrastructural deficit in terms of road network, hospitals and schools, saying that the villagers hardly take their farm produce to the market because of the nature of the roads.
DSP Mansir Hassan, the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, did not respond to calls and a text message sent to him when contacted.
