How 3 siblings, toddler were kidnapped after UTME in Kaduna

What could have been a typical weekend for members of the Sani family in BirninGwari last week became tragic when three teenagers from the family and a toddler were abducted by suspected bandits shortly after they killed the family’s personal driver who was driving them home. The three teenagers, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered, had […]

What could have been a typical weekend for members of the Sani family in BirninGwari last week became tragic when three teenagers from the family and a toddler were abducted by suspected bandits shortly after they killed the family’s personal driver who was driving them home.

The three teenagers, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered, had visited Kaduna town on Friday to prepare for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) set for the next day. By Saturday afternoon, shortly after they successfully took their exams, they had travelled together with an elderly female cousin and her toddler in a car driven by one Ibrahim Dawo.

A member of vigilante from Birnin Gwari, who is familiar with the tragic incident, said the bandits had shot Dawo in the head in an attempt to forcefully stop the black 406 vehicle he was driving at a place called UnguwarYako along a dangerous Highway to BirninGwari. “The bullet smashed the windscreen, which meant they had attacked them from the front,” he said.

He explained that the bandits abducted the three teenagers and the toddler but had abandoned the toddler’s mother who was critically ill in the vehicle. According to him, those abducted were Yusuf Sani, Ummi Sani, Umaira Mustapha, all teenagers adding that he had not been briefed on the identity of the toddler.

He said since the incident occurred around 3pm last Saturday, no words have come from the abductors in the form of ransom demand. Family sources declined comment for fear that too much information could jeopardize the safety of the victims but a youth leader from BirninGwari town and a family friend to one of the victims said there has been apprehension in the family, almost a week after the incident.

“They have not contacted the family since the incident happened. I spoke with the father of two of the children and he told me that they have not heard from the abductors. It is not true that the children are the kids of a former lawmaker but they are all from Kakangi village but living in BirninGwari town,”he said.

The Kaduna State Police Command through the Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the incident saying the command received information from the Divisional Police Officer in Birnin Gwari that the driver of the vehicle was killed by the attackers who abducted four persons from the car. “Three of the victims were teenagers who went to write JAMB exam and their baby sister,” he said.

Another youth leader from the area said he had followed the dangerous highway shortly before the incident and said despite aerialsecurity provided by a helicopter, the bandits make random strikes on travellers only to retreat back to the forest without any challenge. “I passed through the road around 2pm same Saturday before the incident happened and minutes later, we learnt of the attack,” he said

Birnin Gwari is home to Kuduru forest where the Nigeria Police in February said it neutralised over 250 bandits in a combined operation that involved a team of Operation Puff Adder comprising the Police Mobile Force, the Counter- Terrorism Unit, the Special Forces, Intelligence Response Team, the Special Tactical Squad and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.