Kidnappers invade Abuja hotel, kill policeman, injure others

By Ogaga Ariemu

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers attacked the Hilltop International Premium Hotel at Tunga-Maje in Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on Tuesday.

Recall that some gunmen had in June invaded the same hotel and abducted a former member of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Friday Makama, and eight others.

In the latest incident, Nigerian NewsDirect gathered that the gunmen engaged the policemen in a gun battle that led to the death of a police officer.

Three persons lodged in the hotel were injured, one of them from a stray bullet.

A worker in the hotel said the attackers shot at the hotel doors to gain access and flogged the workers.

“They came around 11 pm. They were many. We had closed for the day and had locked everywhere. They shot at the doors. The gunshots were much. They shot the person they abduct before taking him away.

“Three people were injured. One of them a bullet hit him while in his room. Police have been coming to our hotel since the last attack, they met them and engaged them.

“They didn’t do anything to us but we were flogged. People that were injured were those who came to lodge,” one of the workers  told journalists.

The FCT Police Command spokesperson, DSP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident, adding that a police officer was killed during the attack.

She said, “Suspected kidnappers were carrying out their operations and our police foiled their attack and engaged them in a gun battle but unfortunately, one of our men paid the supreme price.”