‘Every young man here wants to be like that hero guard’ — Pastor
By Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh
(Kaduna City) The quick thinking of a retired cop saved a family of five from kidnapping hell Saturday night, TruthNigeria can report exclusively.
Burnt Brick Quarters, Chikun County, was bathed in an unsettling darkness, Saturday night, the 16th of November, 2024 as the moon hid behind thick clouds, casting an eerie shadow over the community of about 1200 households about 4 miles from the center of Kaduna metropolis.
Community gripped by fear
Each night, the community goes to bed with one eye closed after a series of raids on neighboring Mining Village by armed Fulani bandits, kidnapping for ransom in the past weeks, TruthNigeria found out.
In July 2023, armed bandits kidnapped a female Judge, Janet Galadima, with her four children. The eldest son was killed in captivity right before Janet and her other sons. They were subsequently released after payment of ransom.
A few weeks later, armed Fulani kidnappers again struck Mining Village and carted away 16 persons from three families
There had been other three unpublicized kidnappings around Mining Village, TruthNigeria learned.
This has made residents of Burnt Brick Quarters to be very wary of the nights and very vigilant, said Gabriel Ishaku, 65, a retired civil servant in the quarters.
Household silently kidnapped
Kidnappers, armed and ruthless, stealthily descended upon an unsuspecting family without firing in Burnt Brick Quarters, after midnight, Saturday.
But the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood shattered the stillness, retired policeman Gankon Anthony 42, told TruthNigeria.
“A few minutes later, I saw what looked like shadows moving about 200 meters from where I was standing guard,” the volunteer community guard said.
As the kidnappers navigated the darkness, forcing their captives through a marshy path, a chorus of frantic barking erupted from the nearby homes.
“It was from there that I knew that kidnappers had entered a house and were taking hostages without firing so as not to alert us,” he said.
Dogs, sensing danger, alerted their owners and the community. The cacophony echoed through the night air, piercing the silence.
Guard springs into action
Anthony’s instincts honed from years of service as a former policeman, knew every second counted. Grabbing his shotgun, he rallied the community, sounding the alarm that would mobilize the rescue effort.
“Come out, everyone! We have kidnappers!” Anthony shouted, his voice echoing through the night.
He blew his whistle also. And soon the volunteer guards and able- bodied men fanned out. We were over 50 in numbers, Anthony told TruthNigeria.
“We said a prayer for a few seconds, and we went after them with me on the lead,” he said.
“When we got close, we made a ‘U’ formation so that we could chase them to the river, knowing that they can’t cross with the captives,” he said.
Bandit Killed in Firefight
As they approached the marshy path, the bandits opened fire.
“We shouted in English to the hostages to lie flat,” he said.
Anthony returned fire, his shotgun blazing in the darkness.
Members of his team also fired at the criminal, he said.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the night, punctuated by the shouts of the kidnappers.
“The bandits were apparently firing from three guns. We had seven shotguns,” he said.
In the chaos, one bandit fell to the ground, mortally wounded.
Another bandit was wounded and captured.
“He couldn’t run far, because we shot his thigh bones, and a shrapnel pierced his left eye. So, we caught him alive. He is Fulani,” he said.
The remaining kidnappers fled in disarray, abandoning their captives.
Family of five rescued unhurt
Anthony and the rescue team quickly closed in, gathering the traumatized family.
“It was the armed wing of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) that came after we have rescued the hostages,” he said
State Police Spokesman CSP Mansir Hassan didn’t respond to multiple calls from TruthNigeria on the incident.
But a top officer of the NSCDC, Kaduna state Command, who spoke to TruthNigeria on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident, praising Anthony’s bravery.
“We were the ones that took the corpse of the dead kidnapper, and the community also handed the wounded kidnapper to us,” he said.
“The suspect is with the police, even though I doubt if he will survive his wounds,” he said.
“The people in that area said that it was one Gankon Anthony, a security man that encouraged them to come out. In fact, that has made our work easy,” he said
Pastor Emmanuel Jatau, a community leader, echoed the sentiments of the NSCDC officer.
“The swift response of the security guard and the community saved the day,” he stated.
“Every young man here wants to be like that hero guard,” he said.
Humbled by Praises
Anthony’s heroics sparked a renewed sense of unity in Burnt Brick Quarters. Community members have begun organizing nightly patrols, determined to protect their own.
“Mr Bobai Daniel called me yesterday. He said that he is going to return so that he will join us to watch the community,” he said.
“He said that it would be selfish of him to run away after others risked their lives to save him and his family. His wife and children will, however, stay elsewhere for the meantime,” Anthony told TruthNigeria.
Anthony remains vigilant, ever ready to defend those in harm’s way. His legacy as a hero is a reminder that darkness will never prevail when courage shines bright.
Curbing kidnapping creates prosperity
Respected security consultant and retired Navy Captain, Umar Bakori has expressed concerns to TruthNigeria about the rampant kidnapping in the Northeast, Northwest, and Middle Belt. “If the Federal Government curbs kidnapping and banditry, farming and economic activities will flourish, and economic degradation will decline,” he told TruthNigeria.
Captain Bakori’s statement comes as President Tinubu orders the Nigerian military to combat terrorists and bandits in the Northwest. The retired captain urges the President to extend this directive to the Middle Belt.
Onyilokyu Idah.
“Foreign investors, including Americans, British, and French, have fled Nigeria due to kidnapping and terrorism. Our economy is comatose,” according to David Onyilokyu Idah, a former UN Commissioner on Human Rights in a TruthNigeria interview.
Kidnapping for ransom by armed gangs has virtually bankrupted Nigeria’s the Middle Belts’ economy in the course of the last decade, according to sources consulted by TruthNigeria. Every year approximately 7,500 citizens are killed, hundreds murdered despite ransoms paid, according to SB Morgen Intelligence. Ransoms demanded approached $8 million, whereas the ransoms paid were close to $8 million. Many of the kidnapping gangs originate in the bandit-controlled ungoverned spaces of Zamfara where they have been battered daily by bombings from the Nigerian Air Force.
Former UN commissioner Idah told TruthNigeria he believes that if the government tackles bandit crime, foreign investors will return within two years.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh are conflict reporters for Truth Nigeria in Kaduna.
