A suspected child thief narrowly avoided being lynched by an angry mob in the Gwagwa community, located within the Jiwa Chiefdom of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). The woman was caught attempting to flee with a three-year-old girl she had just abducted.
A Pattern of Child Thefts Emerges
The Friday, November 28, 2025 incident is not isolated. Community leaders report a deeply troubling increase in cases of missing children from Gwagwa and neighboring Jiwa. In just the past two weeks, approximately five children have reportedly been taken from the area, creating an atmosphere of fear and anxiety among residents.
The Abduction and Dramatic Rescue
The victim, Bilkisu Abdulkarim, was playing outside her parents' home in Gwagwa town around 4 pm with her two older siblings. According to a family member, Ruqayya Ibrahim, the suspect approached the children and offered to buy them biscuits. The two older children ran inside to alert the adults, but the three-year-old remained outside.
"Their mother told them to bring her in, but they returned to say they saw the woman carrying the girl away," Ruqayya narrated. "We rushed outside to the main road, where we found the woman already seated on a commercial motorcycle with the child."
The child's mother raised an alarm, shouting 'thief!', which quickly drew a crowd. Youths in the area descended on the suspect and began to beat her, even as she claimed she was taking the girl to a police station.
Community Leader Prevents a Tragedy
The timely intervention of a community leader, the Danmadami of Jiwa, Alhaji Dauda Muhammad, who also serves as the Sarkin Hausawa, saved the woman from being killed by the mob. He rescued her from the crowd, placed her in his vehicle, and drove her to the Gwagwa Police Division.
"I had received at least four other reports of missing children from Gwagwa and Jiwa in recent weeks," Alhaji Muhammad stated. He questioned the suspect, who claimed to be from Madalla in Niger State and said she was in the area to rent a room.
"She said she saw the girl, who she claimed had fallen into a drainage ditch. I asked her why she didn’t look for the parents or anyone nearby instead of taking the girl on her back and boarding a motorcycle. She said she wanted to take her to the police station," the community leader explained.
Families Left in Anguish
The father of the rescued girl, Abdulkarim Yahaya, was in a mosque for prayer when he received the terrifying call about his daughter's abduction. He rushed to the scene to find the suspect already in custody.
Other families are living in nightmare. Gazali Salisu, a resident, revealed that his five-year-old daughter, Safiyya, has been missing since November 16, 2025. He believes she is another victim of what appears to be a kidnapping syndicate operating in the community.
"When they returned, they said she was not with them. Since then, all efforts to trace her have failed," he said, heartbroken.
Raising Awareness and a Call for Vigilance
Following the incident, the suspect was taken to a clinic by the police for treatment of an injury sustained on her forehead during the mob attack before being returned to custody.
Human rights activist Comrade Nura Muktar, who first highlighted the alarming trend, confirmed that awareness campaigns are now being conducted in local mosques and churches. The goal is to sensitize parents to monitor their children's movements more closely, especially during the ember months, which are often associated with a rise in criminal activities.
The series of events has left the Gwagwa and Jiwa communities on high alert, urging greater security measures and parental vigilance to protect their youngest and most vulnerable members.
