Tobias Sylvester
Bandits have killed three victims who were among the 25 residents kidnapped from Anguwan Bulus in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Bandits Kill Abducted Persons In Kaduna
It was gathered that the bandits killed the three abducted persons over “delay in the payment of ransom”, threatening to kill the remaining 22 other captives if a ransom of N20 million is not delivered to them before Tuesday midnight.
The spokesperson for the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the killing of the victims who were abducted during an attack on March 31.
Jalige said, “I received phone calls from some people this morning that 3 bodies were found at Dutse village somewhere in the bush.
“The corpses were evacuated to Saint Gerald Hospital. We are trying to talk to the Area Commander to ensure the safe return of those who are still in captivity.”
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, the village head, Gideon Goni said the abductors contacted the community on the telephone to inform them that three of the victims had been killed.
Goni, who also confirmed that they were killed due to failure to pay ransoms placed on their heads, said the community had retrieved the three corpses of the victims from where the kidnappers deposited them.
He said, “The terrorists called and said they had killed three of the 25 people being held in captivity and that if we don’t pay N20 million ransom on Tuesday, others would be killed.
“The community was raising some money to secure the release of the victims when the terrorists called us and told us to pick the corpses of three of their victims at Dutse.
“I am appealing to them not to kill anyone. We are appealing to the state and federal governments as well as religious bodies to come to our rescue so that the killings will stop.”
Another source said, “The bandits called last evening and said since we refused to pay the ransom, we should go to a location and carry the corpses of our people.”
‘Before we get there, we learnt that Police had already evacuated the bodies and deposited them at Saint Gerald Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna. We were at the hospital last night to confirm that.”
“The terrorists threatened that if the community and families fail to pay the ransom by Tuesday evening, they should go to the same spot and carry another set of corpses.”
“Right now, we are confused. We don’t know what to do. We have sold all we ever worked for to appease these people but they want more. We are appealing to the Federal and State Governments to come to our rescue to save the remaining people in captivity.”
A family member of one of the abductees said they had been able to raise N7 million, “but the terrorists insisted on the N20 million or they will keep killing the victims”.
KanyiDaily had also reported how Bandits recently abducted five students of the College of Health Science and Technology in the Tsafe area of Zamfara State.
