Twenty four hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared that no kobo will be paid for ransom payment to kidnappers, those who abducted over 200 Kaduna students have responded with a demand of N1 billion as a condition for the children’s release.
Recall that last week, Kidnappers abducted over 200 students and staff of a government school in Kuriga, Kaduna state.
On Tuesday, the president said no money would be paid to kidnappers.
In what appears to be a response to the president’s directive, the kidnappers demanded a N1 billion ransom. This was disclosed to Reuters by a local councilor and Jubril Aminu, a community leader who acts as a spokesperson for the families of the abductees.
Jubril Aminu told Reuters that the kidnappers contacted him via telephone on Tuesday, March 12, to discuss the ransom.
“They made a total of N1 billion ransom demand for all the pupils, students and staff of the school,” said Aminu.
Aminu added that the kidnappers threatened to kill the abductees if the ransom was not paid within 20 days.
“They gave an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days, effective from the date of the kidnap. They said they would kill all the students and the staff if the ransom demand was not met,” he said.
This information was also confirmed by Idris Ibrahim, an elected official from the Kuriga Ward Municipal Council.
He told Reuters that the kidnappers called the community through Jubril Aminu with a hidden phone number. “Yes, the kidnappers called the community through Jubril Aminu’s number and made the demand,” said Ibrahim.
“They called from a hidden number, but the authorities are working on getting the number.”
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