Bandits Kill Army, Police Officers, Others on Kaduna-Abuja Road

An unspecified number of people, including police and army officers, were reportedly killed last Sunday along the dreaded Kaduna-Abuja road by daredevil bandits.

Several people were also said to have been robbed and abducted during the incident, which occurred near Gidan Busa village on the highway.

Also killed were the daughter of an army officer and Prof. Sadiya Akilu Idris of the  University of Abuja.

Several others, including the orderly of an army officer, were said to have sustained injuries from gunshots as the hoodlums unleashed terror on motorists and travelers.

An eyewitness said the incident took place at about 7:00p.m and lasted for about an hour as the gunmen blocked the road and operated freely.

The witness who pleaded anonymity said several people were killed as the gunmen were shooting indiscriminately at people, while others were abducted as they moved from vehicle to vehicle.

He said the bandits were about 10 and were armed with sophisticated weapons.

It was learnt that when the policemen at one of the checkpoints on the highway were alerted about the operation, they had to wait for reinforcement before confronting the bandits.

The Kaduna State Police Command, however, confirmed that four people were killed in the attack while five others were injured.

The spokesman of the command, Mukktar Aliyu, said the incident occurred at Gidan Busa village when unknown gunmen blocked the Kaduna-Abuja road.

“The Kaduna State police command wishes to inform the public that on July 22, 2018 at about 6:30p.m., a distress call was received that a group of unidentified armed men blocked Kaduna–Abuja express road by Gidan Busa village and opened fire indiscriminately at any vehicle on sight.

“In swift response, teams of policemen stormed the scene where the bandits were dislodged but sadly they had already killed four commuters and injured five others in their dastardly act.

“Normalcy has been restored on the road with commuters moving safely without molestation,” he said.

“The police command uses this medium to reassure the public that we are committed ever than before to protect lives and property of Nigerians, irrespective of time, venue and circumstance,” he said.

“In this regard, we call on the general public to volunteer information to security agencies to assist us in ridding our communities of such violent miscreants who have to constitute a threat to our peaceful coexistence,” the police said.