Five people, including four adult males and a housewife, drowned while trying to escape being kidnapped by bandits in Chakumi village, Gurdi district of Abaji District Council in Abuja.
The Informant247 reports that Chakumi is bordered by the Gurara River in the Dobi District of the Area Council of Gwagwalada, the nation’s capital, with the neighboring village of Daku.
Chakumi village chief Mohammed Magaji confirmed the incident to newsmen, saying it happened around 11am on Wednesday.
He said the deceased victims, including a middle-aged housewife, were working on the farm when they sighted the bandits.
The monarch said they rushed to board a canoe to flee to the neighboring village of Daku, but when they attempted to cross the Gurara River, the boat capsized.
“And even as I speak to you, the bodies of the victims have not yet been recovered as fishermen from Daku and my village are still searching for the bodies,” he said.
Magaji, who denounced the activities of bandits in the area, said farmers can no longer go to their farms for fear of being kidnapped by bandits.
Abaji LGA Deputy Chairman Ibrahim Abubakar also confirmed the incident and announced that one of his relatives was among the drowned.
“In fact, one of my relatives was among those who drowned and their bodies have yet to be recovered up to this moment that I speak to you,” he said.
The spokeswoman for the FCT police command, DSP Adeh Josephine, did not reply to the text message sent to her regarding the incident.