No fewer than 20 residents of Dawaki, a community near Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory, have been kidnapped by bandits.
The bandits reportedly raided houses on Frank Opara Street before security operatives responded to distress calls.
The Chairman of Dawaki Rock Heaven Community, Tunde Abdulrahim, who spoke to newsmen on Monday, stated that the incident happened at about 7.30 p.m. on Sunday.
Abdulrahim mentioned that the armed bandits, numbering about 50, invaded the community and broke into about six houses.
Speaking on the attack, the FCT police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, said in a statement on Monday that the Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, led policemen to the scene and engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle.
The statement read, “In an immediate and strategic response to a distress call on the attack by unknown gunmen in Dawaki on May 19, 2024, at about 11.30 p.m., the operatives of the FCT Police Command, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Igweh, himself, swiftly mobilised to the scene.
“Displaying remarkable bravery and coordination, the police, in synergy with local hunters, advanced on the assailants, tactically ambushing them at Ushafa Hill via Bwari and Shishipe Hills via Mpape.
“This led to a fierce gun duel as the hoodlums were overwhelmed by the firepower of the operatives, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet injuries, and the victims were rescued.
“While one of the rescued victims is still in the hospital receiving medical attention, the Commissioner of Police, FCT, reaffirms the command’s steadfast dedication to maintaining peace and security in the territory, as search operations are ongoing to rescue other hostages who fled the scene during the shootout.”
Chronicle NG had reported that some bandits in the early hours of Sunday abducted five people from Shagari Quarters, Dei-Dei, in the FCT.
Vigilante sources in the community confirmed that the bandits arrived in the area around noon and went straight to the compound of a senior customs officer, where they picked up his wife, three of his children, and a younger brother.
“They spent more than two hours before proceeding to the neighbouring Dakwa community. The man used to work in Abuja with the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS), always parking around his house. But they are no longer around following his deployment to Lagos, though his family is still living in the compound,” the source added.
Efforts by the bandits to attack some houses in Dakwa town were said to have been unsuccessful, following a fierce fire exchange with security men there, which forced them to withdraw, according to the Chief of Dakwa, Dr. Alhassan Musa Babachukuri.
The traditional ruler complained that the bandits have created a base behind Zuma Rock in the Chachi community near Dakawa in neighbouring Niger State, which leads to some forests around Bwari.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
