A Nigerian Air Force personnel, Daniel Dominic, has recounted how armed men invaded his home in Rimi Village, Kaduna State, abducted his two children and briefly took his wife captive during a night raid.
Dominic said the attackers, numbering more than 10 and armed with rifles and machetes, struck between 10pm and 11pm on Sunday while he was away from home for a night shift.
According to him, the gunmen first abducted a neighbour, identified as a laboratory scientist with the General Hospital, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, before moving into his compound.
The victim was said to be the brother-in-law of the Chief Executive Officer of Gurara TV, Ernest Thyek Maidawa.
Dominic said his wife had earlier called to alert him that suspected kidnappers had entered the neighbourhood but did not realise that the attackers had already broken into a neighbouring compound and were advancing towards their home.
He said the gunmen eventually breached his fence and entered the house through a window after dismantling the burglary protection.
In an attempt to protect their children, Dominic said his wife hid their three children—13-year-old Derick, 11-year-old Damina and seven-year-old Dominion—in a kitchen cabinet.
“She tried to convince them that she was alone in the house and that her husband had gone to work,” Dominic recounted.
He said the attackers questioned his wife about money, her husband and the whereabouts of the children.
She reportedly told them that the children had travelled to their uncle’s house for the holidays.
However, the deception did not last.
Dominic said the gunmen became suspicious and took his wife outside, where their neighbour had already been tied up.
The attackers subsequently returned to search the house and discovered the three children hiding inside the kitchen cabinet.
“They now took the first one and the second one and went to where my wife was,” he said.
The gunmen allegedly accused Dominic’s wife of lying before forcing her, Derick and Damina to accompany them towards nearby farmlands.
Dominic said the attackers eventually released his wife after she repeatedly struggled to keep up with them.
He said the abductors ordered her to return home and tell him to start raising money, claiming they knew he was a soldier and regarded him as a “big man” at his workplace.
Dominic said he arrived home shortly after the attackers had left but initially did not realise that his wife and two children had been taken.
“I saw my gate locked, I saw the hole. My thinking was maybe they tried to come into the fence and enter the house, maybe they heard some noise and left,” he said.
His suspicion reportedly changed when he inspected his neighbour’s compound and found the gate open and a large hole in the fence.
He then went to the rear of his house and called out to his wife.
According to him, there was no response until his seven-year-old son, Dominion, eventually opened the gate.
“The next thing he told me was, ‘Daddy, they’ve carried Mummy, Derick and Damina. They kidnapped Mummy, Derick and Damina,’” Dominic said.
His wife later returned and confirmed that the two older children had been taken away.
The family reportedly spent the night at Dominic’s mother’s residence before returning home the following morning.
Dominic said the abductors contacted him at about 9am on Monday using his wife’s mobile phone, which they had seized during the operation.
He said he immediately recognised the callers as the men who had abducted his children.
“When I saw it, I knew that they were the ones,” he said.
The kidnappers reportedly allowed him to speak briefly with his children.
Dominic said he asked whether they were being maltreated, and the children told him they were not.
He said the abductors assured him that they would not kill the children and promised to contact him again.
However, Dominic said no further call had been received from the kidnappers as of the time of the interview.
The Air Force personnel said he had reported the incident to his superiors, while security personnel had visited the community to gather information that could assist in locating the victims.
He appealed for urgent intervention to secure the release of his children and the kidnapped neighbour.
The latest incident has renewed concerns over the vulnerability of communities in Kaduna State to night-time attacks and kidnappings.
Gurara TV had earlier called on security agencies and other relevant authorities to treat the abduction of its chief executive’s brother-in-law as an emergency and deploy resources towards rescuing him.
The station also urged residents with credible information on the whereabouts of the victims or the identity of the attackers to report to security agencies.
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