The 85 women and children who were kidnapped by bandits operating in Zamfara and Katsina States in the Wanzamai village of the Tsafe local government area of Zamfara State have now decided to pay N20,000, or N1.7 million, to each of the victims.
In addition, the bandits asked that military forces stationed in Wanzamai village be transferred to another axis and threatened to resume kidnapping if this request was not granted.
Ahmed Usman, a local who grew up in the region, told DAILY POST in a telephone conversation that the bandits had sent a message saying they would only want N20,000 from each of the 85 victims as ransom due to their financial difficulties.
For the abducted victims to be released, the militants had previously demanded N50 million. Most of the 85 abducted victims are women and children who went to the forest last Friday to gather firewood.
Usman said that during a series of discussions, the bandits dropped their demand for a N20,000 ransom for each victim after realising that all of the victims were from low-income households.
Also, they requested that we alert the relevant authorities to the fact that if the soldiers stay in the region, they will continue to attack the hamlet.
Usman said that the relatives of the abducted victims were now attempting to pay the ransom, lamenting the fact that “many of them had to sell their possessions to obtain the sum.”
He mentioned that one of the abducted people was his sister’s daughter, noting that the family has started an appeal fund to gather the money and rescue the child.
Usman said that the bandits’ abduction of the 85 victims was retaliation for their people being slain in a military raid last Thursday.
Last Thursday, the military launched an attack on the bandits’ camp, during which several of them perished.
“On Friday, the villagers were warned not to enter the forest for fear that bandits may attack them, but sadly several women and children disregarded the advice.”
They went to the forest to get firewood but didn’t realise that bandits were hidden there; as a result, they were all kidnapped.
He mentioned that while one of the abducted victims was slain by the bandits, two of the captives were able to escape.
