Kidnappers Request Android Phones As Ransom To Free FCT Victim

As Residents Blame New Road Opened By Developers

Armed kidnappers struck Extension II Relocation Estate along Arab Road, Kubwa, for the third time in 5 years on June 6, killing Muftau and abducting his brother, Sodiq.

Sodiq regained freedom on Tuesday, June 9, after 3 days in captivity. Residents familiar with the negotiations told THE WHISTLER that 2 Android phones were part of the ransom.

THE WHISTLER could not independently verify the cash amount.

When THE WHISTLER visited the residence the following day, the compound was deserted. The family had moved out within 24 hours of the attack.

Residents said the assailants entered around 10:30 p.m. on June 6 through the same hill route used in at least 2 earlier attacks on the community.

Logo Olakunle, a resident who witnessed the attack, said the first sign came through messages on the estate’s communication platform. He had returned home shortly after 10 p.m. and was preparing to sleep.

“Somebody posted that it looked like a robbery was happening on the east side. Initially, I didn’t take it seriously because sometimes people hear noises and assume something is wrong.

“Later, another message came saying it looked like people were shouting for help. I had already undressed to sleep. I came outside and checked the area, but couldn’t see anything unusual,” he said.

Olakunle added, “I started hearing sounds from the burglar-proof. Because this place is usually quiet at night, the noise stood out. I checked the platform again and saw messages saying they were breaking the burglar-proof. That was when I quickly dressed up and came outside.”

He said the neighbourhood was without electricity, making it difficult to see what was happening until the security light came on.

“I could see the house from where I stood but there were trees inside the compound. The weather was cool and it looked like rain was coming. I could only see movement among the trees.

“Immediately, the security light came on, I saw the men clearly. As soon as the light illuminated the area, they started covering their faces. They were in a hurry.”

THE WHISTLER gathered that community security personnel arrived shortly after and fired warning shots.

“Our security personnel came. I signalled to them. They could see the house from where they were. They fired warning shots from their local guns and the attackers became agitated. Some of them began retreating through different escape routes,” Olakunle said.

He said the attackers were dressed entirely in black, carrying firearms and cutlasses.

“If you saw them on the road, you would think they were vigilantes or JTF personnel. They wore black on black. They looked like security operatives. That was probably to confuse residents,” he told our correspondent.

One of the victims was reportedly killed while struggling with the assailants near the stairs.

“The young man was pushing one of the attackers who had entered the house. He was pushing him towards the staircase and didn’t know another gunman was behind him.

“That second person shot him from behind at close range. I saw the first shot and then another. It happened very fast,” Olakunle said.

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said the man who died appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

The gunshots drew out residents who had stayed indoors. “It was the gunshots that made many people realise the seriousness of what was happening. Before then, many people were still trying to understand what was going on,” Olakunle said.

The attackers took the second brother and fled through the surrounding hills. The victims’ mother was not home. Two other brothers and the family’s only daughter were also away.

Police arrived after Olakunle contacted officers at the Byazhin Police Division through one of his contacts.

“I personally called the Divisional Police Officer’s team through a contact I had at the Byazhin Police Station. They said they would inform officers on patrol.

“Later, police arrived with armed personnel and an armoured vehicle. They helped evacuate the victim who had been shot and took him to the hospital alongside family members,” he said.

Other residents said the terrain gave the attackers an advantage.

“They know the hills and the bush paths. Once they get into those areas, pursuing them becomes difficult, especially at night. There are trees everywhere. There is poor visibility. There is poor network. It is a difficult terrain for security operations,” a neighbour who declined to give his name told THE WHISTLER.

New Road Exposed The Estate

Residents say attacks resumed after developers cut a new road behind the estate, which reopened access routes the community had blocked following earlier kidnappings.

THE WHISTLER could not independently establish that the road was responsible for the attack. However, residents consistently maintained that it had altered the security dynamics of the area.

After the 2022 attack, residents identified the hill route as a key entry and escape corridor and blocked it. Between 2024 and 2025, there were no incidents.

That changed when developers acquired land behind the estate and cut a new road through the hill. Beyond the hill is settlement that residents call a Fulani village. Before the road, the natural terrain and barriers put up after earlier attacks restricted access from that side.

“We observed what happened and blocked their free entry and exit route. There was a hill there and movement was difficult. Even cows hardly passed through that area. But when developers acquired land and opened the road, everything changed.

“Now, somebody can come from that side, follow the road and gain access without passing through the areas we used to monitor. Before, we could easily see people moving through the bush paths. Now they can move behind us without attracting attention,” Olakunle said.

He said the road now runs close to level with the fences of some homes.

“Somebody can practically throw a leg over the fence from that side,” said the resident.

Residents were said to have repeatedly questioned how the road got approval.

Dog Poisoned Days Before Attack

Olakunle said residents later found that the family’s dog had died about 2 days before the attack under circumstances they considered suspicious. THE WHISTLER could not independently verify the claim or establish the cause of the dog’s death.

“They had a giant dog that barked at strangers. Many residents knew the dog because it barked whenever people returned home late.

“That made us suspect the attackers had been monitoring the house long before they struck,” he said.

Two Failed Attempts In Weeks

The June 6 attack was not the first attempted intrusion in recent weeks. Suspected kidnappers made at least 2 unsuccessful attempts to enter homes in the estate 2 to 3 weeks earlier.

A resident familiar with the incidents said the attackers first targeted a house near where the killing occurred, but failed to get in. The same group also targeted a property at the far end of the estate the same day, damaging part of the fence before retreating.

“The incident was reported to the police. They could not gain access because of the security measures in place, including protective barriers, barbed wire and security lights,” the resident said.

“We believe they were testing the area and looking for vulnerable points. When they could not succeed there, they kept coming back until they found an opportunity.”

THE WHISTLER could not independently verify the reported failed attempts. Residents, however, insisted the incidents were reported to security agencies before the fatal attack occurred.

December 2022 Attack

The June 6 attack follows the same pattern as a December 2022 attack that THE WHISTLER reported in the same community.

During the previous attack, kidnappers came from the surrounding hills and entered the estate around 6 p.m. The community chairman, Alhaji Suleiman Seidu, told THE WHISTLER at the time that he received a distress call around 6:20 p.m.

The attackers abducted at least 11 residents, shot 2 people and killed 1. They also took 2 children belonging to the man who was killed.

Police Yet To Comment

THE WHISTLER contacted the Divisional Police Officer of the Byazhin Police Division, Mr Ado Muhammed, who said he was familiar with the incident but had since been transferred. He directed our correspondent to seek official comments from the FCT Police Command or the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters.

Our correspondent subsequently contacted the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, through several telephone calls and a detailed text message seeking clarification on the attack.

As of the time of filing this report, the FCT Police Command had neither answered the telephone calls nor responded to the text message.