Gunmen on Tuesday invaded Aboki village in Kaiama council area of Kwara, killing a bricklayer, Mallam Musa.

The raid was foiled by vigilantes.

“The attackers were not bandits. They were kidnappers, and they had a target,” a resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons told Peoples Gazette on Wednesday. “The gunshots started around 10:15 p.m. around my area where I paid a visit to my sister on the other side of the road.”

The source stated that the armed men “kidnapped a young man, Alhaji Tukur, in my area who was their target”, and four of the gunmen were reportedly killed during a gunfight with the vigilantes.

“But by the efforts of a coordinated security response, they blocked around a village called Gondo and the victim was rescued but sustained a gunshot wound,” he said.

The spokesperson for the police in Kwara, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, did not immediately return a request for comment on the attack.