Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
Gunmen have abducted sixteen people, including close relatives of local security volunteers and children, during a violent raid in the Peze community within the Byazhi area of Kubwa, part of Bwari Area Council. The late-night assault, which occurred between about 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., has drawn significant alarm from residents and raised questions about security in Nigeria’s capital territory amid a sharp rise in abductions across the region.
Community accounts indicate that the heavily armed attackers arrived in Peze shortly before the assault and were observed gathering inside an uncompleted building across from houses in the neighbourhood before initiating the operation. Without warning, the gunmen moved from house to house, threatening occupants and attempting to force entry by shouting and banging on doors. Locals said the attackers warned they would break windows and kill anyone who refused to open their doors.
Unable to gain entry into some homes, the gunmen pressed on to other residences, eventually taking sixteen people captive. Among those abducted were the wife of a local vigilante commander, her younger sister who was visiting the household, and four children belonging to a pastor in the community. Residents noted that the newborn baby of the vigilante commander’s wife was left behind when she was taken; she had given birth less than forty days earlier.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the vigilante commander himself narrowly escaped the raid. Shortly after being alerted to a gathering of suspicious individuals in the area, he set out to investigate, unaware that gunmen had surrounded his own home. On his return, he was intercepted on the road by the attackers, who opened fire as they forced victims from their residences.
After the abduction, the gunmen fled the community, taking the captives into nearby bushland. Residents said the kidnappers later contacted the families of those taken, demanding ransom payments for their release. At the time of reporting, details of the ransom amount and negotiations were not publicly confirmed, but family members were reportedly in communication with the abductors.
The Peze kidnapping is reportedly not an isolated incident. Community members noted that Peze and surrounding districts have experienced multiple kidnappings in recent weeks, including a separate abduction in early January that led to the organisation of local vigilante patrols aimed at deterring attacks. The recent surge in kidnappings has placed additional strain on residents who already live in fear of further incursions.
Security personnel did arrive in the community, but only after the attackers had already fled with their victims, residents said. At present, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies in the Federal Capital Territory have been informed and are expected to investigate the incident, though formal statements from police authorities were not available at the time of reporting.
Abuja’s broader security environment has shown signs of increasing criminal activity, including kidnappings and armed raids in communities on the outskirts of the capital. In neighbouring areas such as Arab Road residential district in Kubwa, separate abduction cases have also been reported, suggesting that some armed groups may be operating from shared bases in surrounding bushes and forested terrain.
Analysts note that kidnappers commonly exploit vegetation corridors and isolated construction sites near residential areas to stage operations, often eluding rapid response by security forces. The Peze incident underscores long-standing concerns about inadequate policing and surveillance in peri-urban settlements, particularly those near forest belts connecting Abuja with neighbouring states.
Residents of Peze community have appealed to federal and territorial security authorities to deploy additional troops, improve nightly patrols, and strengthen intelligence gathering to prevent further kidnappings. Some local leaders have also called for increased support and coordination with vigilante groups, which have emerged as frontline responders in many vulnerable neighbourhoods facing rising criminal incursions.
The emotional toll on the families of the abducted, particularly the guardian of the young children and the recent new mother, has been profound, with neighbours and community members expressing shock and grief at the severity of the raid in a part of the country often assumed to be comparatively safer than rural hinterlands.
As efforts continue to locate the kidnapped residents and secure their release, the Peze community remains on edge, with residents urging authorities to deliver tangible improvements in security to stem the growing wave of abductions near Nigeria’s capital.
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