Residents and neighbours have recounted how a senior military intelligence officer, Colonel Abdulrasaq Abdussalam Ude, was killed while returning to his residence at Kurudu area in Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
The officer was attacked shortly after returning to his home on Monday evening.
His driver and security guard also sustained gunshot wounds during the assault.
It was learnt the attackers attempted to abduct the officer but met stiff resistance.
‘He resisted them. From what investigators have gathered, they wanted to take him away, but he fought back. Unfortunately, he paid the ultimate price,’ a source familiar with the preliminary investigation was quoted to have said.
After failing to take him away, the assailants allegedly shot the officer multiple times before fleeing the scene.
His wife, driver and security guard, who were caught in the attack, were rushed to the hospital and are receiving treatment for varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
But in a Facebook post on Wednesday, one Ali Chukwudi, who identified himself as the deceased’s brother-in-law, described the attack as a calculated murder rather than a failed abduction.
‘Yesterday, Nigeria failed one of its finest. My brother-in-law, Colonel Abdulrazaq Abdulkareem Ude, a senior intelligence officer who dedicated years of his life to defending this nation, was not killed while resisting a kidnapping, as some reports may have claimed. He was deliberately targeted and brutally assassinated,’ Chukwudi wrote.
‘The attackers shot him in the head, killing him. They also shot his wife, my sister, in the leg. The driver and the gate man were both shot in the legs as well. As I write this, my sister is in the hospital, fighting to survive,’ he added.
Chukwudi said the late colonel had served Nigeria loyally for years and was only months away from a promotion he described as well-deserved.
He further described the killing as a direct attack on a patriotic officer.
Chukwudi urged authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation.
Neighbours speak on last moments of late officer
Speaking to our reporters yesterday, one of the residents, identified as Amina, who previously lived in the colonel’s residence before relocating to a nearby plaza after he (Ude) moved in with his family, said the late officer allowed her family to remain close by and paid for the place they now occupy.
She described the colonel as a kind and humble man who maintained a close relationship with her family.
Amina said the colonel, who usually travelled on Mondays and returned on Fridays, unexpectedly returned home between 9pm and 10pm on the fateful Monday while it was raining.
She said her son, Sani, who usually opened the gate whenever the officer returned home, rushed to open it after hearing the vehicle’s horn.
According to her, her husband, Usman, also walked towards the house to welcome the colonel, but came under gunfire moments after the gate was opened.
‘My husband later told me that immediately the gate was opened, the attackers opened fire on him. He dived into a culvert and lay on the ground before escaping by jumping over a fence. He came back shouting that they were going to kill his boss,’ she said.
Amina said her husband believed lying inside the culvert gave him a better chance of surviving the attack before he eventually escaped.
She said the sound of gunfire continued for several minutes, adding that residents could not count the number of shots fired.
She also said residents believed about five armed men carried out the attack, but no one saw how they arrived or how they escaped, as they were not seen with any vehicle or motorcycle.
Amina said her son, Sani, who opened the gate for the colonel that night, sustained a gunshot wound to the thigh and is receiving treatment alongside the colonel’s wife.
When Daily Trust visited the area yesterday, the colonel’s daughter was seen returning to the house with women from the community who had gone to sympathise with the family.
However, the woman declined requests for an interview, saying she was still traumatised by the incident.
The colonel’s younger brother, Yusuf Ude, told Daily Trust that he was not at the residence when the attack occurred.
He said the officer’s wife was recovering from her injuries and that the family was currently focused on her treatment.
Asked whether the military had deployed additional security to the residence, Yusuf said he could not confirm the situation for now, noting that the family would have a clearer picture after she recovered.
During the visit, Daily Trust observed a heavy military presence around the residence, with armed soldiers stationed in the area, including personnel in a military Hilux vehicle and a black military van.
Some soldiers were also positioned inside an uncompleted building overlooking the neighbourhood.
A Daily Trust reporter approached officers in the black military van for comments, but one of the officers, who identified himself simply as Umar, declined, saying those authorised to speak on the matter were not around.
Residents who spoke with Daily Trust said the incident has left many living in fear, with several calling for improved security in the community to prevent a recurrence.
Our reporters observed that the late officer’s apartment, which is located in the Phase 5 area of the Post Army Housing Estate in Kurudu, is within an isolated area.
It was learnt that it was not too long that the officer moved into the area.
The killing has sent shockwaves through military circles, as Colonel Ude was preparing for promotion to the rank of Brigadier General.
An indigene of Enugu State, the late officer served in several strategic intelligence and counter terrorism roles within the Armed Forces.
He participated in operations against insurgents in the North East and was also deployed on specialised international assignments in Chad and France, where he contributed to intelligence and security cooperation.
The remains of Colonel Ude was buried on Tuesday after a funeral prayer at the Mambilla Mosque in Abuja in accordance with Islamic rites.
Colleagues described him as a courageous and highly respected intelligence officer whose dedication to duty earned him widespread admiration within the military.
The incident occurred about two years after retired Brigadier General Uwem Harold Udok was killed by armed men who invaded his residence in the Lokogoma area of Abuja while he was defending his family.