✕ CLOSE Online Special City News Entrepreneurship Environment Factcheck Everything Woman Home Front Islamic Forum Life Xtra Property Travel & Leisure Viewpoint Vox Pop Women In Business Art and Ideas Bookshelf Labour Law Letters
Click Here To Listen To Trust Radio Live

I denied my wife before my abductors – freed Niger commissioner

“They asked whether the woman was my wife and I denied. Then they asked why we were in the same room together."

The Niger State Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Sani Idris, has narrated how his wife was spared on the day of his abduction, saying he told the bandits that she was not his wife.

Idris, who spoke exclusively with our reporter in Minna yesterday, said that after forcing their way into his house, the bandits headed for his bedroom, where he was with his wife.

“After taking possession of my phones, they dragged me outside. My wife became agitated and they started dragging her on the floor. I was in my boxers and singlet.

“They asked whether the woman was my wife and I denied. Then they asked why we were in the same room together.

“I told them there were other passages from the other side of the house and she was scared.

“Fortunately, while we were at the gate, one of my younger brothers came out from another place, and when they sighted him, they threatened to shoot, but he ran and escaped. So I told them my younger brother was the husband of my wife.

“They then contemplated whether or not to carry her along, but after heated argument among them, they decided to leave her behind, saying she could be a liability because she was looking ill,” Iliya said.

The commissioner, who betrayed emotions during an interview, said his abductors took him through a bush path for three hours before arriving at a thick forest at the border between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Niger State.

“They blindfolded me, tied my hands, legs and left me in the rain throughout the night, without food and water, while I was subjected to all forms of torture,” he said.

On doubts expressed over his claim of being released without ransom, the commissioner said, “Those who doubt God would find it difficult to believe, but I had a close shave with death. I can tell you that no ransom was paid.”

VERIFIED: It is now possible to live in Nigeria and earn salary in US Dollars with premium domains, you can earn as much as $12,000 (₦18 Million).
Click here to start.