From John Adams, Minna
No fewer than 63 people have been abducted from across three communities in Pandogari district of Rafi local government area of Niger state, just as Joint Security Taskforce in the state has rescued 13 kidnapped victims being held hostage in parts of the state by bandits.
The 63 villagers were Kidnapped from Durmin, Jarmiya and Pandogari, all lest than 10 kilometers from Pandogari town where a camp of the Joint Security TaskForce is stationed.
A source close to these villages told our correspondent that 41 people were abducted from Durmin while 14 were picked up from Jarmiya and in Pandogari eight people were abducted.
According to him, eight people from Jarmiya were freed on Thursday night after the gunmen collected N6million ransom and two motorcycles, leaving six others still in captivity, adding that the gunmen are demanding for additional N200,000 for recharge card for the release of the remaining six.
At Durmin, only eight have regained their freedom after the gunmen collected N8million from the relations of the villagers, leaving 33 others under captive even as the entire village has been deserted and the people relocated to Pandogari town.
It could be recalled that the people of Durmin had during the raining season paid N20million levy to the gunmen to allow them farm only for them (gunmen to return to the village on Thursday and abducted 41 people.
Also at Pandogari town, eight people were abducted including two women and their children in an early morning raid by another group of gunmen.
While two of them were freed midway into the journey to go and source for ransom money, six are being held by the gunmen who are demanding N2million for the release of each victim.
However the 13 victims rescued by the .Joint Security TaskForce on Friday include, nine male and four female were abducted from Maje Daji community within Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Gwalu village via Kafin-koro in Paikoro local government area of Niger State.
All the victims were being held captive around Bonu, Gwalu, and Chimbi Koro communities of Gurara and Paikoro local government areas of the state.
The state government in a statement by the commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Umar gave the names of the victims as Ramatu Usman (35) Jamila Jafaru (15) Fatima Usman (30) Hassana Usman, Salamatu Bio, Suleman Usman, Bayi Mohammed, and Awwalu Shagari, all kidnapped from Gwagwalada FCT, Abuja
While Fauziya Musa, Nazifa Ibrahim, Mansura Musa, and Wasila Musa, were kidnapped from Chimbi and Kain koro in Paikoro local government area.
The Commissioner in the statement disclosed that the victims were rescued on Friday at about 1:30 in the afternoon following a tip off that some roving bandits were sighted around the area.
“Consequently, a joint security forces raided the areas, and during the raid, the criminals were routed and engaged in a gun battle.
“In the course of the exchange, majority of the hoodlums scampered for safety, while some of them escaped with bullet injuries and thirteen (13) kidnapped victims, that were abducted from different locations and held captives were abandoned by their abductors and rescued by security forces in Gurara local government area”.
The statement further added that all the victims had being taken to a government medical facility for medical examination and have been reunited with their families.