The Department of State Service (DSS), in conjuction with local vigilantes have arrested a soldier attached to the Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment in Tungan-Maje in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja for allegedly hiring out and selling guns to kidnappers.
This is just as bandits on Sunday night returned to Anguwar Tudun Fulani in Yangoji village, Kwali Area Council of the FCT, and abducted three women.
This comes barely two months after bandits invaded the area and abducted the wife and three children of the herders’ chief.
The three abducted women were named as Hauwa Musa, Zainab Musa and Sa’adatu Adamu.
The Mai-Anguwa of Tudun Fulani, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, confirmed the latest abduction on Monday morning, saying that the bandits came around 11pm and started shooting before moving out the three women.
Abubakar, who led our reporter to the houses from where the three women were abducted, said the bandits shattered the windows and front door of one of the houses and whisked away two of the women.
“After that, they moved to the next house and abducted another woman before leaving the community,” he said.
Sources noted thatthe husbands of the abducted women had travelled out of the community when the incident happened.
The Mai-anguwa, who was visibly disturbed, said the latest attack was the third in the area since January this year, adding that some of his kinsmen have been relocating from the community.
“I have summoned several meetings to see how we can engage the services of vigilantes, but my people are not cooperating,” he further said.
A source noted that the operation that led to the arrest of the soldier was carried out last week around Dankogi Park in Zuba in collaboration with members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in the area.
A vigilante source told City & Crime yesterday that the DSS from Gwagwalada office sought the assistance of the local security group in Zuba to arrest the suspect based on previous arms deal allegations against him.
“It was learnt that the suspect, in the first deal, had allegedly hired out a gun for a kidnap operation for N300,000.
“Then in the second instance, they contacted him for another deal and he demanded N200,000 which the kidnappers allegedly paid, but he failed to produce the gun.’’
The source said when the kidnappers, who have been in the DSS custody, made the allegation against the soldier, a sting operation was planned against him.
“So they contacted him for another deal to supply them with AK-47s to buy at the cost of N3 million.
“We went to the agreed site on the delivery day here in Zuba, and took position. He arrived at the scene in his car to present the arm, and that was the time we came out and caught him with the gun well wrapped.’’
The source further informed our reporter that an AK-47 rifle, as well as a fully loaded magazine with 30 rounds of ammunition, was found inside one of the safe compartments of his car.
“We drove him to our office where a document was signed with the DSS and handed him over to them,’’ the source added.
It was further learnt that army officials from the headquarters in Abuja met the vigilantes in their Zuba office the next day where they took their statement on how the operation was carried out.
Daily Trust