•Abduct 30 in latest attack
From John Adams Minna
The gunmen who abducted no fewer than 150 villagers from the Kuchi community in Munya Local Government Area of Niger State have rejected N15 million ransom offered by members of the community for the release of their loved ones.
The bandits, who have been operating with impunity in the last two weeks since the joint security task force were forced out of the community, are demanding N1 million for the release of each victim. This brings to N150 million the total ransom being demanded by the bandits. In addition, the bandits have released and asked a man, whose wife and four children were among the abductees, to go and source for N60 million for the release of his family members.
The community had initially offered N60,000 for the release of each victim, but later increased it to N100,000, but this was rejected by the bandits.
However, while the negotiation was ongoing, the gunmen, on Sunday night, invaded another community, Kakuru, about five kilometres from Kuchi, and went away with 30 people, bringing the total number of villagers in their captivity to 180. A source close to the community, who spoke to Daily Sun in confidence, said the bandits had threatened to kill five of the victims if they delayed payment of the ransom.
“They told us that if we don’t pay the money before 15th of this month (June), they will kill five of them as a warning to what will happen to the rest of the victims. They said the N100,000.00 is not up to what they hired their guns with, not to talk about the cost of bullets. In fact, they told us that they will not reduce anything from N1million for each victim.
“The entire community is in mourning right now because there is no way the people can afford this amount and, unfortunately, there is no effort from anywhere to rescue the people. Since this abduction started three weeks ago, no government official or security agents have visited the community. The government is aware of the situation, but nothing has been done”, he added.
The Kuchi community has been left without the presence of a single security agent since the incident occurred, a situation that has forced the people to flee their homes. It was gathered that 90 percent of the inhabitants of the ancient railway town have abandoned their homes and relocated to Sarkin Pawa, the headquarters of the local government, while others are taking refuge in the neighbouring villages with their family members.
The Chairman, Munya Local Government Council, Alhaji Aminu Najume, who confirmed the latest abduction of 30 people, said all the victims are still held by the bandits.
“Only two people were released to go and source for money for the release of their family members. A man who was kidnapped alongside his wife and three children was asked to go look for the money.
Another one is an old man who was released on health grounds, but his two children and his wife are being held and he was equally asked to go and source for money for their release”, he said.
The chairman also confirmed that no security agents have visited the community since the attack occurred, saying that “we are still waiting for the deployment of security to the community. No security presence in the community for now”, he added.