Abductors hold Kaduna female students after N3.6m ransom

Abductors of the six female students and two staff members of the Engravers College, Kakau Daji in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State were still holding on to the girls and staff members yesterday, more than 48 hours after collecting N3.6 million ransom.

The abductors initially negotiated with the school authorities but later said they preferred to deal with the parents.

The parents have met since then and were able to collectively put together N3.6 million, which was taken to a spot described by the kidnappers.

But since then, the parents have been unable to get to the abductors and the girls are yet to be released.

“Parents of the girls contributed N3.6 million and it was delivered to the kidnappers, but they have not released the girls. As it is, the parents are helpless and apprehensive. There has been no communication with the bandits after the money was delivered, so everybody is very worried.

“We have been praying day and night to God to touch the hearts of the kidnappers to free the children and the staff.

“The parents have been in trauma since the incident happened and they were hoping that with the payment of the ransom, they would release the girls,” a source told Daily Trust.

Meanwhile, abductors of the four of GDSS Gwagwada students have demanded a ransom of N2 million.

The students were abducted on their way to school but troops of the “Operation Thunder Strike” rescued 10 of them, not knowing that four had been taken away earlier.

A community leader in Gwagwada said: “They divided themselves into two groups and the group with four students had escaped before the army arrived. The army did not know that one of the groups had escaped with four students.

But they pursued the group with 10 of the students and rescued the students.

“We told them that we are poor village people and we don’t have N2 million. We pleaded with them to understand with us,” he said. The Kaduna police command is yet to respond to the development.