Unguwar Joka or New-poultry, which has moderate number of houses, is bordered by undeveloped vast land comprising of farm lands and a forest from where the attackers came and operated from 12 to 2am.
Residents of the area were still receiving sympathisers when Daily Trust visited the community on Friday.
Mr. Frank Usas, whose wife Grace and two sons made it back home, said it was a terrible experience which he would not even pray for his worst enemy. The middle-aged man who fled his home on the arrival of the gunmen, said to be numbering about 20, was still in a bad mood during the visit, as his 13-year-old son was still held by the kidnappers.
He said his wife woke him up when the assailants started hitting on their gate. “I looked through the window and saw about 4 persons who I initially mistook for vigilante. Their constant demand for us to open the gate made me realise that they were attackers. When I did not succumb to their demand, one of them jumped over my fence and forced the padlock open. At that point, I ran out through the back door.”
Usas said he sustained injuries on one of his hands and leg in the process as they trailed him for a while, before he escaped, only to discover that the gunmen were operating in other houses within the area.
“I reported the matter to the police outpost located close to the highway. The only policeman I met on duty contacted the vigilante who also passed the information to the Zuba Police division.
“The police team from Zuba arrived later on and asked me to join them in their van and lead them to our area. The first thing I did was to search my house, but unfortunately none of my family members was present. The kidnappers had taken them away,” Usas said.
Malam Salisu Abubakar lives about 10 meters away from the other home where the first 4 persons were abducted. He said the gunmen got to his house around 12.07am.
They first broke part of the burglary proof attached to his living room before they changed their mind and broke one of the windows through which they gained access into the house. “I quickly fled, so they met my wife and two children aged 7 and 11, who were sleeping on same mattress. They asked my wife about me, and one of them suggested that one of my children should be killed but another one advised that the 11-year-old be abducted. And that was what they opted for,” Abubakar said.
Opposite the house was another building owned by Elder David Olusegun Ajibola, a welder who is popularly called pastor in the community. His wife, a teacher, and 13-year-old son, who is writing his junior WAEC, were not at home during the visit, as they were said to have left for school, respectively.
However, one of the sympathizers, Mrs. Blessing Andrew, said the attackers forced themselves into the premises through the fence. “They collected some money and later took away Elder David.”
It was gathered that the attackers, who also looted a provision store in the area, were careful in selecting houses that they attacked. Most the houses were fenced with gates, with some having security wires.
Mrs. Grace Usas was taken alongside her three children before she was released with two, while the third one – a 13-year-old boy, is still with them.
She said after they were taken separately from their houses, they were all led to a particular spot close to a path that led into a nearby forest. “After about two hours of operation, gun shoots from the direction of the centre of the town made them to quickly move away with us through the bush.
“We trekked for about one hour before a stopover where they sorted the younger and able-bodied ones and proceeded with them. Five of us – a pregnant woman, an elderly man, two of my youngest children and I, were made to remain there for some minutes under guard. They later ordered us to go back home while they quickly joined the others. It was on our way back that we sighted some people with flashlights in the bush who happened to be policemen.”
Also speaking, Mrs Helen Ezora, the pregnant woman, said her husband had sneaked out of their home on their arrival, but left behind the sum of N8000 with her. “They asked of him first, and later for phones and money which I handed over to them. Two of the kidnappers left immediately, while the last one remained in the house and later asked me to move out and join other abducted neighbours outside.”
Another person who regained freedom is Mr. Usman Augustine, the oldest among the victims. He said his wife was the first person to be released having fainted along the road.
“Four other persons and myself were released by the abductors while my granddaughter, Patience, is still being held alongside five others.”
The victims still in the kidnappers’ den include Elder David Olusegun Ajibola, 50; 13-year-old Daniel Usas and 11-year-old Faruk Salisu. Others are Maryam Muktar, 17, Onyinyechi Judith Eze, 16, and Patience James, 13.
Deputy commander of the vigilante in the area, Yunusa Zakari Akoshi, said he was among the vigilante members that went in search of the victims alongside the policemen. He said they located a place where the attackers made a stopover during the day, and proceeded in looking for them but were not able to trace them.
Zakari said plans are underway to collaborate with vigilante members across some other villages to launch a joint manhunt against the kidnappers and possibly rescue the victims.
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