Unknown gunmen on Thursday kidnapped scores of residents of Tungan Maje village, a community bordering the Federal Capital Territory and Niger State.

The hoodlums reportedly stormed the village where they kidnapped about 20 persons after shooting sporadically in the air.

Vigilantes in the community were said to have put spirited resistance against them, but the kidnappers escaped into Niger State with their victims through a nearby forest surrounded by rocky terrain.

The FCT police spokesman, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, however, said 10 persons were kidnapped, adding that five of the victims had been rescued.

He stated that a joint team of police operatives from the Command Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Rapid Response Squad and the Zuba Police Division responded swiftly to the attack.

Manzah stated this in a statement titled, ‘Police operatives rescue five kidnap victims.’

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It read, “The command wishes to inform the public that when it received a distress call on the kidnap of some persons on September 10, 2020, at about 0130hrs in Tungan Maje, a village bordering FCT and Niger state, a joint team of police operatives from the command Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Rapid Response Squad and Zuba Police Division responded swiftly.

“During a fierce gun confrontation with the heavily armed hoodlums, the police team successfully rescued five of the kidnapped victims.”

The police assured residents that efforts were ongoing to rescue the other victims.