BREAKING: Heavy Gunshots, Many Feared Killed, Injuried As Terrorists Attack Abuja
A kidnapping operation launched by a gang of armed men suspected to be bandits in the early hours of Thursday turned bloody in Guto village, a border community in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
This is as operatives of the FCT Police Command engaged the attackers in a fierce shootout.
Naija News House gathered that the incident occurred around 1:10 a.m. when about 30 gunmen stormed the community and attempted to abduct a resident and members of his family.
A distress call was immediately sent to the police.
Responding swiftly, operatives from the Bwari Division, backed by personnel of the Inspector-General of Police Special Intervention Squad (SIS), raced to the scene.
However, on sighting the officers, the assailants reportedly opened fire, sparking a prolonged gun duel, according to the spokesperson of the Command, SP Josephine Adeh, in a statement issued on Thursday.
She explained during the exchange, police operatives shot dead two members of the criminal gang, forcing the others to retreat into the surrounding bushes and rocky hills.
She noted that the victory came at a heavy cost: one police officer was fatally hit by gunfire.
He was rushed to the Bwari General Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Miller Dantawaye, has deployed additional personnel to the area following the attack and ordered a full-scale investigation to track down the fleeing suspects.
He said normalcy had been restored in the community.
Josephine described the fallen officer as one who “paid the supreme price in the line of duty.”
