JUST-IN: Bandits kill man, kidnap family in FCT Community

In a tragic incident highlighting the growing insecurity in Nigeria, a resident of Ushafa Community in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was shot dead during a bandit invasion on Thursday night.

The attackers also kidnapped the deceased’s wife and children, further intensifying fears in the community.

A police source confirmed the incident but provided few details. Ushafa is one of several communities in the FCT that have experienced increasing attacks amid the ongoing security crisis in the country.

Efforts to reach SP Josephine Adeh, the Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, were unsuccessful, as her phone line was unreachable at the time of filing this report.

This incident comes on the heels of a report by SBM Intelligence, a security and market intelligence firm, which revealed that Nigerians paid N1.048 billion in ransom to kidnappers between July 2023 and June 2024. According to the report, titled ‘Grim Reaping,’ the FCT has seen the highest ransom demands in the country, with Lagos and Kaduna following closely.

The report underscores the complex and worsening security situation in Nigeria, with kidnappings for ransom on the rise.

It also highlights the economic factors driving this trend, noting that kidnappers are increasingly targeting a broader range of victims, often lowering their initial high ransom demands to amounts families or organizations can afford to pay.