Another Abuja estate attacked, bizman abducted

Gunmen, in the early hours of Monday, broke into the Grow Homes Estate, located at Chikakore, on the outskirts of Kubwa town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The attack on the Chikakore estate is coming about 48 hours after another estate, Efab Global Estate in Idu district, was attacked by armed men, suspected to be robbers.

Chikakore, about 30km from the Abuja city centre, is located in Bwari Area Council and has witnessed many attacks this year.

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In January, kidnappers, numbering about 20, invaded a house and kidnapped five people, including a director with the ruling All Progressives Congress, who was later killed in their captivity.

In yesterday’s attack, two residents, a businessman and a housewife, were abducted during the operation that lasted for about an hour.

Abuja Metro, however, learnt that the woman was released by the kidnappers somewhere outside the community, as they were heading into the bush, after she had pleaded with them that she wouldn’t be able to go on.

A relative of the abducted businessman, who preferred to remain anonymous, told our reporter that the gunmen, on arrival, removed the barbed wire placed on the house’s fence, before jumping into the compound, and opening its main entrance.

“Thereafter, they accessed the bungalow after smashing a window attached to it, to meet the man along with his family members. They left with him immediately,’’ the man added.

Efforts to speak to the victim’s wife, who was seen surrounded by sympathisers, were not successful, as she continued to scream, with others trying to calm her and pleading with her to take her breakfast.

It was also gathered that the gunmen broke into three different compounds.

A resident of one of the compounds, who escaped the attack, said he was woken up by gunshots from the attackers on their arrival around 1am.

 “Initially, they headed toward the house where they abducted a woman, whom they later released on their way to the bush.

“So, from the woman’s home, they came to our compound, but before they arrived, I quickly took cover along with my brother at separate locations. I was able to have a glance at their movements throughout the operation from the place where I took cover. They initially cut the security wire attached to the house’s fence, and forced its gate open.

‘’They wanted to enter through the main door attached to the bungalow, but when they realised that it was not going to be opened easily, they went toward one of the windows, and broke the attached burglary. They tried to locate us but didn’t succeed.

‘’As the operation was ongoing, one of the security guards attached to the estate moved down to our site, from the estate main entrance, where their office is located. He fired some gunshots from afar, where he took cover.

But instead of the gunmen fleeing from our area, they moved toward his direction, firing gunshots in retaliation. ‘’The security guard had tactically withdrawn immediately. It was the police van’s siren that arrived about an hour into the operation that caused the attackers to end their operation and leave with the two victims, a businessman and the released housewife,’’ the man added.

Abuja Metro reports that this is not the firsttime gangs of kidnappers have struck in the estate, which is still under development.

In the two previous attacks, not less than 24 people were reportedly abducted, leading to the death of a resident.

A resident also disclosed that all the previous attacks took place during the night, with one carried out around 8pm.

He said previously, the kidnappers used to access the facility through the fence around the phase 4 section, adding that after some hunters were deployed there, they now changed their location, coming through the fence near a railway line that links the Abuja and Kaduna axes.

Our reporter gathered that all ongoing building projects in the estate, as well as the block industries operating inside the estate, have been put on hold, following the incident, with some of the workers seen discussing the incident in groups.

Policemen from Byazhin and Kubwa have been visiting the facility.

The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident, saying one person was rescued.

“The FCT Police Command, on Monday, 26th May 2025, at about 1am, received a distress call from police officers stationed in front of Grow Homes Estate, Kuchibuyi village in Byazhin, reporting an attack by armed assailants and requesting reinforcement.

“Upon swift deployment to the scene, it was discovered that the armed attackers had breached the estate through the rear perimeter fence and forcefully abducted two victims.

“The responding police officers exchanged gunfire with the attackers for about 40 minutes and rescued one of the victims, identified as Chinyere Joe. Unfortunately, the attackers escaped with the second victim.

“The command’s Anti-Kidnapping unit, in collaboration with the army and other security operatives, has since launched an operation to track down the fleeing suspects and ensure the safe rescue of the remaining abducted victim.