Bandits have demanded a ransom of N25 million ransom after kidnapping about seven women and four children along dreaded Birnin Gwari Road in Kaduna State on Thursday.
The women who were on their way to attend a wedding, were said to have been kidnapped between Manini and Udawa town, along Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway on Thursday.
According to a resident of Udawa town, Alhaji Umar Abdullah, who said he escaped narrowly, “the incident happened on Thursday around 12:00 pm when the bandits intercepted three vehicles conveying the women on their way to Birnin Gwari.”
“A seven-year-old boy was among those abducted,” Alhaji Umar revealed.
Also, Udawa community leader, Muhammed Umar, told DailyPost that the women were all from Udawa town in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
He stated;
All the 13 women were from Udawa on their way to Birnin Gwari to attend a wedding.
Some of the women are from the same family, like Zainab Abu Jibril the senior wife of Malam Jibril Ibrahim, and her five daughters were all abducted alongside others from other families with their infants.
According to him, if not for the quick response of soldiers, the bandits would have abducted more travelers on the way because they blocked the road, picking their victims.
Giving an update on Saturday, a community leader, Alhaji Umaru Udawa, told journalists that the victims were travelling to a ceremony before they were abducted between Manini and Udawa village in Chikun Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, the bandits have called the victims’ families, demanding N15 million ransom for the women and N10 million ransom for the children.
He said;
The relatives have told the village head and we are appealing to the bandits to release them unhurt while negotiations are ongoing. We hope they will graciously reduce the ransom to a reasonable amount.
According to the community leader;
The relations have told the village head and we are appealing to the bandits to release them unhurt, while negotiations are ongoing. We hope they will graciously reduce the ransom to a reasonable amount.
The authorities were yet to react to the abduction, as at the time of filing this report.
