By Oluwatosin Maliki
Gunmen stormed the Asokoro extension area of the Federal Capital Territory on Sunday, kidnapping two landlords.
Quest Times gathered that the armed men are demanding the sum of N20m from the families of the victims for them to be freed.
The incident unfolded when the armed men captured one of the landlords, pointed a gun at him, and was used to gain access to another victim.
According to a resident in the area identified simply as James, the other victim was about entering his house when he was whisked away by the armed men.
He stated, “It happened around 11pm on Sunday. Because of the heat, one of the landlords slept outside. They saw him and pointed a gun to his head. They asked him to take them to his house, and he showed them but they were not satisfied with the kind of house he lives in.”
“There were other big houses next to his house. So, they went with him and asked him to knock on the gate of one of the houses. When he knocked, as a well-known neighbour, the gate was opened for him. That was how they accessed the man’s house and kidnapped him.”
“The second landlord had issues with his car and came home with a motorcycle. He was about to enter his house when they attacked him and whisked him away.”
Also, the source noted that the kidnappers had contacted the families and demanded N20m to release the landlords.
He said, “Two hours after their operation, they called the two families to pay N10m each. One of the families pleaded to pay N2m and assured them that they would get it almost immediately, but they rejected and instead threatened to kill him if the N10m is not complete.”
Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police spokesperson, was reportedly unavailable when contacted for a comment.
However, the incident was confirmed by the Asokoro Commander of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Mohammed Seidu, who noted that effort was ongoing with the police to rescue the victims.
“Policemen attached to the Asokoro Police Station are aware of the matter. We have been combing the nearby bushes to see if we can rescue them,” he added.