At approximately 9:15 pm, gunmen attacked Kobi and Kpaduma 3 villages in the Guzape area of the Federal Capital Territory. The FCT Police Command received a distress call reporting gunshots along Kobi Village Road in Kpaduma III. The Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao Adewale, personally led a response team comprising the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Rapid Response Squad, and the Divisional Police Officer, Asokoro Division, to the scene. Upon sighting the police team, the assailants opened fire, using two female victims as human shields to escape. The police team engaged them in a fierce chase and successfully rescued the two female victims unhurt. Two community vigilante members sustained gunshot injuries during the confrontation. They were evacuated to the National Hospital, Abuja, where one was confirmed dead, while the other remains in critical but stable condition. The kidnappers abandoned their victims and fled as a result of heavy firepower. The deceased vigilante was identified as Bako Pwaza (also referred to as Bako or Bello).
15 Sept 2025 · Kpaduma, Abuja Municipal Council, FCT
Deaths
1
Injured
1
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
2
Perpetrators
Unidentified Armed Actors
Response
The FCT Police Command responded to a distress call, engaged the gunmen, and rescued two female victims. Two vigilantes were shot during the operation; one died on the spot. The Commissioner of Police commended the bravery of the officers and extended condolences to the family of the deceased vigilante. The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) later began clearance operations in Kpaduma-Kobi Forest to dismantle kidnappers' dens
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Banditry-for-ransom economy, weak urban–rural security buffer
Trajectory
This incident was part of a broader pattern of kidnapping attempts in the FCT‘s peri‑urban areas. In response, the FCTA launched clearance operations in Kpaduma‑Kobi Forest to dismantle kidnappers’ dens. The FCT Police Commissioner identified Guzape, Asokoro, Kpaduma, Kugbo and Nyanya hills as kidnapping flashpoints.
Cycle notes
The foiled abduction in Kpaduma directly echoed the 14 August 2025 kidnapping attempt in Kubwa, FCT, and the June 2025 abduction of residents in Bwari Area Council, all part of a sustained pattern of kidnapping‑for‑ransom operations in the FCT's peri‑urban settlements. The method – a night‑time attack on a village, using victims as human shields – mirrored the 31 July 2025 kidnapping attempt in Dei‑Dei, FCT. The killing of a vigilante during the operation reflected the 17 July 2025 killing of a vigilante in Dei‑Dei, highlighting the growing risk to community security actors. The subsequent clearance of Kpaduma‑Kobi Forest by the FCTA echoed the October 2024 FCTA clearance of kidnappers' hideouts in Mpape Hills.
Pattern
Foiled abduction
Related — Kidnapping
In a coordinated operation, armed Bandits launched simultaneous attacks on villages in Kudan Local Government Areas of Kaduna State. They targeted Taban Sani village in Kudan LGA, where assailants kidnapped two villagers and rustled an unspecified number of cattle. The Bandits fired sporadically into the air to stifle any potential resistance.
In a daring operation targeting the Presidency’s inner circle, Alhaji Musa Umar, the Magajin Garin Daura, was abducted from his home when six gunmen arrived in an unregistered blue Peugeot 406 shortly after Maghrib prayer, fired into the air to disperse bystanders, and forced him into the vehicle before fleeing.
At approximately 10:00 pm, more than 100 Bandits in military uniforms on motorcycles stormed the all‑boys Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State, opening fire to disperse students. Many fled over the fence, but the gunmen tricked others by calling out in Hausa “Gather here. We are soldiers,” leading them to believe they were security personnel. The captives were forced to march for two days without rest through Rugu Forest into neighbouring Zamfara State, where they were held in clusters