…Ransom to include 11 Hilux, 150 motorbikes.
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
It was a shocking revaluation, as armed bandits that killed two and abducted 16 residents of Gonin-Gora, in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State, have reportedly demanded for N40 million ransom. Some even said N40bn.
A resident and community leader in Gonin-Gora, John Yusuf, who disclosed this, said that the bandits got in touch with the victims’ families and also demanded for 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles.
This was disclosed in a post on social media WhatsApp group chat Middle-Belt by a member on penultimate Tuesday.
All efforts to clarify further on the outrageous amount of ransom, with eleven Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles proved abortive, as the source could not pick his calls.
However, the statement posted read, in parts: “Bandits have shockingly demanded an exorbitant sum of N40 trillion in exchange for the release of the 16 residents, who were taken captive from the Gonin-Gora area of Kaduna.
“John Yusuf, who is a community leader, mentioned that the bandits got in touch with the victims’ families and asked for 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles,” it stated.
A resident also told our reporter that the exact numbers of those kidnapped have not been formally ascertained. Hitherto, he however said a rescue effort reportedly discovered a corpse of a woman when they trailed the bandits.
He also disclosed that a husband of one of the female victims has paid N8 million ransoms for the release of his wife and kid kidnapped, but bandits retained the husband for days for insisting in waiting to see his family, but was later released.