A group of bandits has invaded a primary healthcare centre in Kuyallo, Eastern part of the Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, kidnapping two nurses and an unspecified number of patients.
The incident occurred on Monday morning, when the bandits initially targeted the nearby Government Day Secondary School, but found it empty.
According to Musa Alhassan, a leader of a local Vigilante group, the bandits arrived at the school around 9 am, asking about the students. However, upon finding the school empty, they turned their attention to the healthcare centre, which is within the vicinity. “The bandits came to the school around 9 am, asking about the students, but when they found out the school was empty, they went to the healthcare centre and started kidnapping people,” Alhassan said.
The bandits, who were seeking to abduct students, instead took two female nurses and several patients hostage, leaving the community in a state of panic. “The exact number of patients kidnapped is still unknown,” Alhassan added. Another eyewitness described the scene, saying, “The bandits came into the healthcare centre wielding guns and machetes. They started dragging people out of the hospital, and we couldn’t do anything to stop them.”
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks by bandits in the state, highlighting the need for increased security measures to protect communities and healthcare facilities. In March, bandits abducted over 100 pupils and teachers of LEA School Kuriga in the Chikun Local Government Area in Kaduna within Zamfara State. The abductees were later rescued in Zamfara State. In December 2023, a resident doctor with the National Eye Hospital, Kaduna, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, was abducted by bandits and she has spent over eight months in the kidnappers’ den.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Kaduna State Police Command nor state government officials had confirmed the latest incident. The spokesman for the Kaduna State Police Command was unreachable for comment.
