Village head, 5 others abducted in Kaduna

Bandits have abducted the village chief of Abashiya, Chief John Onombem, alongside five others in the Kachia LGA of Kaduna State. A community leader from the area, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed the latest abductions to our reporter via telephone on Saturday night. He said that a large number of bandits wielding sophisticated weapons […]

Bandits have abducted the village chief of Abashiya, Chief John Onombem, alongside five others in the Kachia LGA of Kaduna State.

A community leader from the area, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed the latest abductions to our reporter via telephone on Saturday night.

He said that a large number of bandits wielding sophisticated weapons invaded the community, forcing many villagers to flee to the neighboring Alele community. During the raid, the bandits stormed the chief’s house and whisked him away.

The source explained that the chief had been ill and was unable to flee, which made it easy for the bandits to capture him.

“The village chief has been sick. Upon hearing that bandits were entering Abashiya, the villagers fled, but the chief was unable to run because of his health challenges. As a result, the bandits whisked him away,” he said.

The bandits then proceeded to the neighboring Badoko village and abducted five more people—four men and one woman.

A security source, who also requested anonymity, confirmed the kidnappings and stated that joint security operatives are already combing the forest to rescue the victims.

A police source in the area confirmed the incident but declined further comments.

The spokesperson for the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Hassan Mansur, had not yet reacted to the abduction at the time of filing the report.