Five sisters kidnapped in the Zuma 1 area of Kawu, in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja on January 2, have been rescued by security operatives. Their rescue which happened on Saturday according to the police, came after the death of their sister who was kidnapped with them.
The sisters were seized by armed men who burst into their home just 15 miles (25 kilometres) from Abuja city centre, according to the family. Attackers killed one sister, 21-year-old Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, when a ransom deadline passed. According to a statement by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, the girls were rescued on Saturday night in the Kajuru forest in neighbouring Kaduna State.
“The FCT Police has rescued the victims and reunited them with their families,” a police statement said. A cousin of the girls confirmed to AFP that they were back with the family. Kidnapping for ransom has in recent times increased in the Federal Capital Territor, with criminal gangs targeting highways, apartments and even snatching people from their homes in estates within the city.
Bandits operate out of bases in forests across the northwest and central states.
After public outrage over the sisters’ case, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu condemned what he called the “recent spate of kidnappings and bandit attacks”. Tinubu has made tackling insecurity one of his major promises since coming to office in May last year.
