Many residents of the Kungaboku and Paze communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have fled their homes following a letter by terrorists allegedly threatening a coordinated attack. In the letter allegedly found in a pupil’s schoolbag in a private school, the terrorists vowed to attack Kungaboku and neighbouring Paze to avenge their commander’s killing.

On March 7, troops, police and vigilantes, rescued 19 kidnapped victims. The victims, mostly residents of Paze and Kungaboku, regained their freedom during a coordinated search and rescue operation conducted around Gidan Dogo in the Bwari Area Council. During the operation, troops reportedly killed a terrorist, while others fled the scene with gunshot wounds.

Further exploitation of the area led to the recovery of one AK-47 rifle and one fabricated firearm. The threat letter was reportedly discovered in a pupil’s notebook at a private school in Paze by a teacher while marking the child’s homework. After raising the alarm, the pupil, parents, teacher and school authorities were picked up, interrogated, profiled and later released by the police.

Meanwhile, news of the threat spread rapidly, with residents sharing the information across various community groups and social media platforms. To worsen matters, a day before the letter surfaced, suspected bandits attacked a Fulani settlement in Kungaboku, kidnapped three women and demanded a N70 million ransom.