After collecting ransom, kidnappers kill 1 of abducted Abuja wedding guests

Kidnappers have shot dead one of the 16 abducted wedding guests in their captivity after collecting foodstuffs, drugs and wines worth N437, 000 from the families of the victims.

City & Crime reported that kidnappers abducted the victims, including women, who were returning to Gwombe village in Kuja Area Council of the FCT after attending a wedding in Abaji town on Saturday, November 11, 2022.

A family member of one of the victims, Shuaibu, who confirmed the release of the victims through phone to our reporter on Wednesday, said the victims were freed on Tuesday afternoon at a bush in Kogi State.

He said the abductors killed one of the victims, whose name he gave as Maikasuwa Madara.

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He said the kidnappers claimed that the deceased did not co-operate with them at their camp.

He said family members and relatives struggled to raise the sum of N437,000 to purchase foodstuffs comprising rice, spaghetti, beans, drugs and wines for the kidnappers.

He said a substantial amount of money was also raised by family members and relatives as ransom before the victims were freed.

“I cannot disclose the amount for security reasons, but it is a very big amount of money,” he added.

The Agabe of Ugbada-Gwargwada, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Hussaini Agabi Mam, also confirmed the release of the victims after ransom was paid and foodstuff worth N437,000.

He said the victims’ families have decided to keep the ransom close to their chests for security reasons, even as he confirmed that one of the victims was killed by the abductors.

“In fact, I am still mourning over the killing of one of those abducted by the kidnappers. A very young boy and master’s degree holder was just killed like that despite collecting foodstuffs and a huge ransom,” he said.

Our reporter reliably learned that the deceased, Maikasuwa Madara, worked with the quality assurance department of LEA Kuje Area Council of the FCT.

The spokeswoman of the FCT Police Command, DSP Adeh Josephine, was yet to confirm the release of the victims and the killing of one by the kidnappers.