Armed robbers attack Aso Villa, kidnap 10 worshippers in Katsina mosque
…It was a foolish attempt — Presidency
By Ayo Fadimu
There was tension yesterday in Aso Villa as armed men suspected to be robbers at about 2am invaded the residences of the Chief of Staff to the President Muhammadu Buhari and Admin Officer, Ibrahim Gambari and Abubakar Maikano respectively inside the precinct of the Presidential Villa.
A political analyst said that an hour before the Aso Villa attack, in a style that shows that the attacks were politically sponsored, armed bandits had attacked a mosque in Katsina state and kidnapped where at least 40 people, including women and children were kidnapped. They were abducted by unknown gunmen from a mosque at Kwata community in Katsina state on Monday, police said.
The Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah said heavily armed gunmen attacked the mosque at around 2:00 a.m. local time and kidnapped 40 people busy in midnight worship (special night prayers during Ramadan).
Sources informed Nigerian NewsDirect that the houses of the two senior aides to the President were robbed and the robbers packed money and other valuable assets from both houses.
Officials also said that Buhari’s Chief of Staff was given an official residence at the Defence House, but has not been living there, preferring instead to live inside Aso Villa and be close to the president.
In the meantime, the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari has confirmed that there “was a foolish attempt to burgle his residence at 3:00am this morning but it turned out to be unsuccessful.”
According to the statement released by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and publicity, the burglars came to the house but were not successful. However, he didn’t explain how their mission to the house was unsuccessful.
According to the Presidential Spokesman, “Professor Gambari, whose house is on a street next to the Villa assured that there is nothing to worry about from the incident.”
It would be recalled that armed bandits have abducted thousands of citizens since the beginning of the year claiming billions in ransom payments at an alarming rate.
The Katsina Police spokesman Isah said 30 of the abducted persons have been rescued, while efforts are on to recover the remaining 10, adding the gunmen might have taken them to Rugu Forest.
The dreaded Rugu Forest serves as a hideout for bandits terrorizing Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna states and spans over 220 kilometers (137 miles), stretching from the Niger Republic and spreading into a substantial part of Katsina state of Nigeria.
The council area, located close to the Rugu Forest, has experienced frequent attacks and kidnapping in the recent past.
Last week, bandits abducted dozens of travelers and killed a journalist, Ibrahim Dankabo. A cameraman with the Information Unit of the council area, Dankabo was trying to save a woman who was being kidnapped when he was shot dead.
Last month, a mob also lynched three suspected bandits in the area.
