The abductors of 29 residents of Yewuti village in Kwali Area Council of the FCT have demanded N40 million in ransom from the families of the victims.
City & Crime reported that kidnappers had, in the wee hours of last Tuesday, invaded Yewuti, the hometown of the former vice chairman of the council, Alhaji Zubairu Jibrin Yewuti, and abducted 29 residents, comprising women, adults, and children.
Though four of the victims succeeded in escaping from their abductors as they were being led into the bush.
A family member of one of those abducted, Shuaibu Hussaini, who spoke with our reporter on Sunday, disclosed that the leader of the kidnappers called on Friday, morning and demanded N40 million.
He said efforts to convince the leader of the kidnappers to reduce the ransom demand failed, saying “when the man they contacted was trying to beg the kidnappers’ leader to reduce the demand, he quickly cut off the call.”
He said the kidnappers’ leader has not called back since then.
Meanwhile, our reporter reliably learnt that vigilantes and hunters were still combing the bushes in search of the location of kidnappers.
A member of the vigilantes, who preferred anonymity, disclosed to our reporter on Sunday, that they were still combing the forest around Toto-Kotonkarfe in search of the abducted people.
“We are not relenting, as we are still combing the forest around Toto-Kotonkarfe at a boundary between Nasarawa and Kogi states to locate their camp and rescue the victims,” he said.
There is no official statement from the spokeswoman of the FCT police command, DSP Adeh Josephine, on the incident yet.