An officer of the Nigeria Police Force has been reportedly killed in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by some armed gunmen suspected to be kidnappers.

The tragic incident happened when security operatives successfully thwarted the kidnapping of the family members of the current chairman of the Bwari area council, John Gabaya.

Prior to this event, the bandits had previously abducted the council chairman’s father, John Makama, along with two other family members in 2021. After an undisclosed ransom was paid to the bandits, they were eventually released.

An aide to the council chairman informed journalists that the armed gang returned to the community around 11:33 pm on Sunday.

The bandits, armed with AK-47 rifles, reportedly entered the Tokulo community through the Kaduna forest and engaged in a fierce gun battle with the vigilantes guarding the chairman’s private residence.

During the exchange of gunfire, the Bwari division police team was alerted and swiftly arrived at the community.

Sadly, one of the police officers lost his life during the crossfire, but the remaining officers successfully repelled the attack.

We learnt that the attack on the family of the council chairman by bandits was the third time between February 2021 and April 6, 2024.

“And if you can recall, the bandits attacked the chairman’s community on February 2 2021, after which they returned again, on February, this year and launched another attack but were resisted through efforts of the security operatives, while on Sunday, April, this year, the bandits struck again and were repelled again,” the council chairman’s aide told Daily Trust.

The latest assault on the Tokulo community was verified by the spokesperson for the FCT police command, SP Adeh Josephine.

According to her, a group of unidentified criminals carrying various weapons forcefully entered Tokulo village during the early hours of Sunday with the intention of abducting the family of the Bwari area council chairman.

“But unfortunately, the police team came on time to engage the kidnappers in a bloody gun duel and foiled the abduction, in which one of the policemen was killed during the exchange of gunshots,” she said.

Josephine added that one of the kidnappers was shot dead during the crossfire with the police, saying the council chairman’s family were later evacuated into the police vehicle from the community to an unknown location.