A tragic incident unfolded in the Paze community near Byazhin in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as bandits killed a vigilante and abducted four residents, including a pastor and a minor. The attack occurred in the early hours of Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Attack Details
Approximately eight armed bandits invaded the neighborhood, known locally as Back of Catholic Church. They shot dead a security guard, Shuaibu Yerima, who was employed to protect the area. The assailants then proceeded to abduct Pastor Francis Oriade of the All Christian Fellowship Mission (ACFM), Maitama, Abuja; Jewel Obeh; Friday Isaac; and an 11-year-old boy, Delight Okeke.
Eyewitness Accounts
Emmanuel Isaac, younger brother of abducted victim Friday Isaac, recounted the terrifying ordeal. He stated that he first became aware of the attackers shortly after midnight when he heard a gunshot, which presumably killed the guard. “We saw them entering our premises, about four of them carrying guns. One masked member seemed to be leading them. We tried to escape through a back door but were surrounded and ordered back inside,” he explained.
Isaac continued, “They tied my hands and my elder brother’s hands. They told me to go with them, but my brother pleaded that they take him instead, and they agreed. About 10 minutes after they left, police arrived with an armored van and a Sienna car. We begged them to follow the kidnappers in the direction they went, but the police refused and chose a different route.” Isaac had recently moved into a newly built, unfurnished house.
Elizabeth Oriade, the sister of the abducted pastor, described how the gunmen entered their home through a window after failing to force the door open. “We heard gunshots around midnight, and they invaded our homes about 20 minutes later. They found us in the toilet, dragged the pastor from his room, slapping him because he delayed opening his door. They tore a wrapper to tie our hands, seized our phones, took some cash, and then took him away,” she said.
Mrs. Joy Alex, whose husband Jewel Obeh was abducted, shared her experience. She had spent about an hour searching for the house key on the night of the attack. “I stayed at our roadside shop until 11pm looking for the key. I advised my husband to stay at a hotel, but my daughter eventually found the key. About an hour after we returned home, the gunmen arrived. They pulled out a window using a digger, two jumped in, and ordered us to open the door. Initially they wanted to take my daughter, but they left with my husband instead,” she lamented.
Erenta Okeke, mother of the abducted 11-year-old Delight, said the gunmen broke in through a window and demanded money while pointing a gun at her head. “My husband was away, so they took my little son after I begged them to spare his younger sister, who was trembling throughout the ordeal,” she recounted.
Aftermath
Residents reported that the slain vigilante was initially shot in the leg but bled to death due to delays in medical assistance. He was buried after funeral prayers at the palace of the chief of Ijayapi, also in Byazhin. A senior police officer at the Byazhin Divisional Headquarters, speaking anonymously, confirmed the incident and stated that officers are pursuing the kidnappers.
