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• Victims’ family seeks justice, wants case charged to court
By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
It was a hellish experience masterminded from some unexpected quarters.
Jimmy Sallah, an indigene of Maiduguri in Borno State, narrated to Saturday Sun how his brothers – Yusuf Haruna and Abdulmumini Awada, 32 and 25, respectively, survived an ordeal in kidnappers’ den for 24 days.
The abduction, he said, was orchestrated by their uncle’s closest ‘friend’ and colleague at work, Ibrahim.
One of the kidnap victims, an engineer working in Port Harcourt, Rivers states, had come home for his marriage ceremony, when he was abducted, while the other, a student lives with his uncle in Gwagwalada.
How did it happen?
According to Sallah, on January 5 2023, armed kidnappers dressed in military gear had stormed their home at Gwagwalada Paso, and abducted his two brothers. The armed invaders scaled the fence to gain access to the house.
He said that his distress call to the Nigeria Police while the kidnappers were attempting to break in never received a positive response, until his two brothers were captured and taken away.
The incident was promptly reported to the police, the Anti-kidnapping Unit and the Directorate of State Security Services (DSS). But there was no help in sight.
Relief came when after some days, the kidnappers made the first call which was followed by several other demands for N200 million ransom. The family was unable to afford it. After series of negotiations with the abductors, the amount was reduced to N100 million, which the family was still unable to afford.
With heightened anxiety over the wellbeing of two brothers, the family offered N1.5 million, which the abductors turned down. After several days, the ransom was reduced to N30 million with a threat to kill the abducted brothers if the family failed to pay, which made them offer to pay N2 million that was again rejected.
“The abductors told us to forget about our brothers, as they would be killed because we failed to raise the sum requested. The incident devastated our family. We ran from pillar to post, seeking help, which never came. I recall whenever the abductors called to demand Glo recharge cards. Whenever I heard my brothers screaming from pain when the abductors made us listen, my heart broke. We learnt that they were kept in a cave by the abductors, fed on water occasionally, with little or no food.”
The family alleged that several entreaties for help from the security agencies, including the Police and DSS to track the abductors were not successful.
“The kidnappers demanded for N30 million, while even the N2 million we pleaded to give the abductors we couldn’t even raise. I sold everything I had and still could not raise up to N1 million,” he revealed.
The family claimed it submitted the CCTV footage of the abduction to the security agencies, but nothing came out of it. “I was asked to pay money for tracking, I did. A couple of days later, I was asked to come and pay for another tracking, that they misplaced the one they did earlier. I spent over N100,000 for tracking, mobilisation at the police station. With the DSS, the story was not different. Additionally, my uncle spent over N200,000 for the same purpose, yet no result. We realised that we became an ATM to the police and DSS,” the.family alleged.
When asked how the victims were rescued, Sallah noted that as no help was in sight from the police and DSS after parting with some money, he decided to approach the vigilantes for help.
“I narrated our ordeal to the vigilantes, and they asked us to calm down, assuring that they were going to do something about it. They invited me to their office in Niger State to write my statement after which they devised a plan, which included informing the kidnappers that we had raised the N30 million ransom demanded.
Though we had apprehension about the plan, the vigilantes said although it was a 50-50 chance, we should trust them. So, when the kidnappers called, I told them the money was ready and they told me where to go and drop it and it is in Niger State. I informed the vigilantes and they went ahead to ensure that the area was secured.
“So, when I got there, I called the kidnappers and informed them that I had dropped the money. They said I should go home, that my brothers would come home soon. I said no problem. I obeyed and left the area.
“Some hours later, after I dropped the money, I got a call from the vigilantes saying I should come to their office. When I got there, I was told those that came for the money had been arrested. I was taken to where two of them were kept with the money.”
The two arrested kidnappers let out the location where they kept their victims, adding that the two brothers were still alive. The vigilantes contacted the police in Niger State for a combined rescue operation on the location where the two brothers and other abducted victims were being held.
Saturday Sun learnt that the rescue operation lasted for over two hours and led to the arrest of two more kidnappers. One other was killed while others escaped.
The two brothers and seven other victims were rescued, while six corpses of abducted victims were recovered from the scene.
The two rescued brothers have been reunited with their family.
The insider’s role
Whilethe family was in a celebratory mood, the police decided to scroll through the confiscated phones of the four arrested kidnappers. But nothing prepared the brothers for the revelation that was to follow. An insider, a well known family friend, it was discovered, acted as an informant to the kidnappers, leading to the abduction of the two brothers.
Sallah said: “When we were going around, asking questions and seeking help, he was also going round with us. But he would later call the kidnappers behind our backs and tell them what was going on.
“So while scrolling through the phones of the kidnappers, the police discovered a particular number they were calling and receiving calls from repeatedly. When asked who owned the number, the suspects said his name was Ibrahim and was the link man that led to my brothers’ kidnap. They said the target wasn’t my brothers but my uncle, but since my uncle was not around, they had to pick up anybody that was in the house so as to demand ransom.”
One of the kidnappers was made to call the link man and inform him that the ransom had been paid and that he should come to a location near a bank at Suleja to get his share. So he drove down with the hope of picking the money but was arrested instead.
The family was surprised that the mastermind of this devious act was a close family friend, a senior lecturer.
“When we were invited to the station, it was shocking to see that it was the same man that had been going around with us seeking help on how my brothers would be released to us without harm. Apparently, he was going around with us to feed the kidnappers with information. He was always advising us to pay the ransom.
“We were shocked when we saw him and we even had to remind him of all his advice to us, how he was following us around, not knowing he was the one behind the ordeal. He kept saying he was sorry and asking for forgiveness.”
The family said they had decided to move on with their lives as they assured the man that they had forgiven him. But the police said they would do their work to ensure justice in the case.
Meanwhile the Niger State Police Command informed the victims family that the case will be transferred back to Gwagwalada, FCT where the crime was committed for discreet investigation before the accused persons would be charged to court.
Saturday Sun learnt about a new development with the accused person’s family making frantic effort to secure his bail even before his arraignment in the court by the police. The family is worried that if that happens, the man might come for revenge and get the entire family wiped out. They are also worried that he might tamper with the ongoing investigation in the matter.
Tongues are already wagging as to why the matter has not been charged to court. “Some powerful people are working hard to get him off the hook without facing justice. The case is still in Niger State,” the family stated.
Still traumatised
The abducted victims, who were held for 24 days by their abductors in very dehumanising condition in the forest, are still being traumatised. They said the abductors threatened to kill them on several occasions, but somehow, they escaped being killed.
One of the rescued victims confirmed that the kidnappers told them that some abductees are sold as slaves to ready buyers in Zamfara State. He said while in the kidnappers den, they indeed witnessed some people who came from Zamfara to buy two people at the cost of N50 million each. They were told that could be sold as slaves to work in slave camps in illegal mining sites or for ritual purposes.
Sallah, while thanking God for the safe return of his two brothers and other rescued victims, also thanked the Niger State vigilantes and the Nigeria Police for the collaborative effort to rescue the brothers and the other victims.
Sallah pleaded that the police should charge the suspects, including the family friend that orchestrated the abduction, to court quickly to ensure justice is done.
