Nabeeha’s sisters’ freedom: police, family disagree

The details of the kidnapped victims of the Al-Kadriyar family continue to emerge following the release of the five abducted girls by their captors.

Daily Trust reports that the girls were abducted on January 2 along with the second-born of the family, Nabeeha, as well as their father, Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, from their home located at Zuma 1 area, at the outskirts of Bwari town, in the FCT.

An uncle to the children was shot dead by the bandits, as he was leading a police rescue team to the house around 9pm of the faithful day.

The father was released three days later and ordered to provide N60 million ransom before or on Friday 12.

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However, unable to meet the demand, the bandits killed Nabeeha, a 400-level student of Biological Science, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, around 9pm on the dateline, and jacked up the ransom to N100 million, which must be paid before last Wednesday.

The five victims released are Najeeba, a 500-level Quantity Surveying student, her younger sister Nadherah, 300-level Zoology student, both of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria and their twin sisters, Habeeba, Haneesa.

The fifth person is Mardeeyah Isah Salahuddeen, a 400-level student of Microbiology, Bayero University Kano (BUK). She is maternal cousin to the children that joined the family, during school holidays.

Meanwhile, the FCT police command in a statement issued on Sunday, through the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh,had said the effort of the Command’s anti-kidnapping squad led to the rescue of the victims.

“Following the relentless advancement of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command Anti-Kidnapping squad in a concerted effort with troops of the Nigerian Army, on the heels of the kidnappers that struck the Zuma 1 area in the Bwari Area Council on the 2nd of January 2024, The FCT Police  has rescued the victims and reunited them with their families.

“The operatives successfully rescued the Victims around kajuru forest in Kaduna state  at about 11:30 pm on  Saturday 20th January 2024,” the statement reads in part.

However, the family countered the claim saying that the girls were released after ransom was paid, and not rescued.

Speaking about the release of the five sisters, an uncle to the victims, Jamiu Salman, told Daily Trust that they received a call from one of the victims around 8pm on Saturday that they were released by their captors and gave the details of the location.

“On getting the information, I and a younger brother to their father mobilized ourselves and left for the Jere junction, where we sighted some military men and approached them to introduce ourselves.

“They provided us with escort down to a bush around Gurara Dam where they stopped. We proceeded and met the children. We arrived back home after 11pm, in the company of the military escort.”

He confirmed that a ransom was paid last Wednesday, though he declined to disclose the amount.

Also speaking, a cousin of the children, Mubarak Alkadriyar, who was in the journey to bring back the children, said the bandits had earlier called them and directed them about where and who to pay the ransom.

“They released 12 people altogether – comprising five from Al-Kadriyar’s family, and seven other people from three different families abducted from Dutse axis in the FCT. We jointly made the payment last Wednesday.

“It was a collective payment with the other family members. They told every family what to pay, and one person agreed to collect all the money on behalf of the others and given directives on how to bring the money,” Mubarak said.

Mubarak Al-Kadriyar also faulted a claim that the victims were rescued by security men, insisting that they were released by their captors after ransom was paid.

“They have done their best actually, but as I earlier said what they did was not enough. The security agencies have failed to prioritize the lives of the citizens which is their duty.

“Because even after the ransom was paid, should they come in to say they want to rescue them?

“The bandits shouldn’t have stayed conveniently from Wednesday down to Saturday night and at their convenience to release them to us, and they left thereafter without anybody confronting them.”