Kidnappers of 4 siblings reduce ransom to N10m …As 4 out of 15 Kuje hostages regain freedom after N10m ransom
Kidnappers of four siblings in Barakallahu community in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State have reduced the earlier N100 million ransom placed on each child to N10 million for the four.
The kidnappers stormed the community on September 18, 2020 at 02:00am and abducted four children of the same parents, including their mother. The children are Muhammad Mustapha Abdulsalam, Hauwa Abdulsalam, Muhammad Abdulsalam, Ummul-Khairi Abdulsalam and their mother, Hajara Abdulsalam.
On September 20, their mother, Hajara, reportedly regained freedom after the kidnappers heard her reciting non-stop “La illa ha ill llah”.
The father of the children, Abdulsalam Haruna, a tailor, who confirmed to our correspondent that the ransom had been reduced to N10m, said, “My children are still with the kidnappers. We have been negotiating with them and they finally reduced it to N10m, but even though they have reduced it, I have no means to raise that money and nobody has come to our aid.
“My children are alive because I just spoke with them not long ago. I am pleading with the general public to help me save my children from the hands of their abductors.”
It would be recalled that on October 11, suspected bandits killed nine people in Kadai village in Fatima District of Kaduna’s Giwa Local Government Area hours after they had killed six people, including a seven-yearold boy, in nearby Kidandan village.
In a related development, four among the 15 kidnapped Kuje Area Council officials in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been set free after payment of N10m ransom.
A week ago, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted a former Vice Chairman of the council, Mohammed Baba, two councilors, Vice Chairman of NULGE and other council officials while they were returning from a reception organised for the newly appointed LEA Secretary of the council, Yunusa Zakara, in Kabbi village.
A member of one of the hostages’ family, who spoke with our reporter yesterday on condition of anonymity, gave the names of the four victims that were set free as Nuhu Mohammed, Special Assistant to the Chairman on Media and Publicity; Tanko Maiko, a former Councillor of Kabbi Ward; Danjuma Aliyu and Alhaji Sule Sarkin Noma.
He said the victims were set free at about 06:00pm on Friday after N10m was paid to the kidnappers, adding that 11 persons, including the former vice chairman, were still being held.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, ASP Mariam Yusuf, confirmed the release of the four persons, saying effort was ongoing to ensure that the remaining victims in captivity were rescued and reunited with their families, but that the command was not aware of any ransom payment.