Armed men suspected to be bandits invaded Dangeza Hamlet in Gwandum Ward, a community in Shongom Local Government Area of Gombe State, kidnapping five residents after unleashing chaos in the village.
The abducted villagers were Buhari Shehu, 60; Rukayya Adamu, 17; Muhammad Sale, 20; and Rabe Sale, 12, all from the same household, along with another villager whose identity is yet to be confirmed.
The men were said to have stormed the village at midnight without facing any resistance from security agencies, before whisking the victims away to an unknown destination.
As learnt, the victims were abducted from their homes, after which the gunmen fled the scene to avoid being caught by security personnel.
According to an eyewitness, the bandits, numbering four, demanded the whereabouts of a local hunter known as Yusuf upon arriving at the community.
However, when they could not find him, they turned their anger on other villagers, eventually dragging away the victims to an undisclosed location.
The source added that the armed men, aside from taking the villagers captive, also made away with Yusuf’s hunting uniform.
Recounting his ordeal, one of the survivors and father of the wanted hunter, 55-year-old Samaila Musa, described how terrified he was when the men broke into his house.
“They asked me where my son was, but he was not at home. Before they left, they took his hunting clothes and kidnapped others,” Musa said.
Operatives of the Gombe State Police Command, who later visited the scene, recovered three empty AK-47 shells left behind by the attackers.
Meanwhile, the command assured that efforts are underway to track down the perpetrators and rescue the abducted victims.
In a related development, bandits also struck in Nasarawa State on the same day, kidnapping two persons — including the daughter of a High Court judge, in Maraba Gurku, near Lafia.
The victims, Hauwa Shinkaru and Abdulkarim Iliyasu, were reportedly abducted from their residences in the area.
Community members and security agencies have since launched search operations in both states, as calls mount for urgent government action to halt the growing wave of abductions across northern Nigeria.
