A member of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) taskforce against prostitution, begging and hawking, Society Against Prostitution and Child Labour in Nigeria (SAP-CLN) as rescued a petty trader from a group of suspected kidnappers at Jabi District.
The rescue which was effected at the weekend, occurred while the three-man gang attempted to strangulate the woman inside a moving taxi.
The victim of the suspected kidnappers, Bukky Afolabi, a mother of two who sells local herbs popularly called Agbo, at Utako Motor Park told journalists after she regained consciousness at a hospital, having suffered eight-hours unconsciousness in the attack said she boarded the taxi from Utako to Karimo on her way back home after the days business.
According to her, while they were in transit, the other occupants of the taxi ordered her to tender all valuables in her possession, adding that while she was still trying to comprehend the motive behind the order, one of the men pulled out a gun and pointed it at her while another reached for her neck, trying to strangulate after which she lost consciousness only to wake up on a hospital bed.
Speaking in an interview, Coordinator of SAP-CLN, Mrs. Grace Adoga, stated that while her men were on routine patrol around Jabi, they noticed a woman being held by the neck at the back of a taxi while another pointed a locally made pistol at her.
Adoga said the taxi had no number plate but bore the side code FCT/RTS/T 6902 issued by the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) of the FCT administration.
She explained that the SAP-CLN team chased the taxi through Mike Akhigbe Way in a bid to rescue the woman from her captors and that during the chase, the taxi driver
lost control and crashed into the fence of the Jabi police barrack on Emmanuel Adiele Street.
“The patrol team called the office to alert us of their position and situation but trailed the taxi to a point where it was intercepted by the SAP-CLN bus. Upon the sight of the mobile police officer attached to the team, the taxi driver and the occupants sped off,” she said.
Adoga added that the team reported to her that all three occupants of the taxi ran out of the taxi except the woman who was unconscious, after which she was rescued and taken to Gwarimpa General Hospital for treatment.
The coordinator further stated that the matter had been reported to the Gwarimpa Police Station for investigation.