Kidnappers have commanded a family head to get at least N25 million as ransom for a dozen relatives abducted on December 2 in Kaduna State.

On December 2, 12 relatives of a man from Awon ward in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna, returning from a wedding ceremony in Abuja, were abducted at Ariko. Relatives believe the kidnappers had an informant who tipped them off about the family’s journey. They were still held captive without any shred of hope on Thursday.

Luka Magaji (pseudonym), a resident of Awon ward, told FIJ that the patriarch of the abductees has been depressed. He is confused about how to secure his family’s release, said Magaji.

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Magaji said that after the kidnappers contacted the patriarch, whose name FIJ will not mention for security reasons, they demanded up to N200 million.

“The kidnappers divided the 12 into three groups. For each group of abductees, they initially requested N200 million. After some days, they reduced it to N10 million for the first group and N15 million for the second group,” Magaji told FIJ.

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Narrating how the kidnap scenario played out, Magaji said that the kidnappers attacked the vehicles of the returnees at 9:10 am in Ariko on the day they were returning from the wedding ceremony of one of their relatives who had married the previous day.

“They didn’t know that the kidnappers, tipped off by informants, had been waiting for them since Sunday. Now they are requesting that he pay N10 million for the first group and N15 million for the second group, along with four motorbikes. He has also provided them with foodstuffs worth N200,000,” he told FIJ.

FIJ called Mansur Hassan, the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer for comments on the matter. Hassan said he would get back to FIJ.