The remaining victim abducted from the Rock Heaven community, News Engineering area of Dawaki, Abuja has been released 27 days after she was abducted by armed men allegedly clothed in Army uniforms.
The 18-year-old lady, who is the only child of her parents, was writing her West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination and had pending papers when she was abducted in her night attire.
She was released at about 6 pm on Saturday from captivity after the sum of N20.5m was allegedly paid in cash, among other food items.
NewsNGR can report that her family had first paid N20m on May 25, six days after she was abducted alongside 14 people from the estate.
“They came on Sunday (May 19) at about 8 pm, and they called us on Thursday of that week demanding N20m,” a family source told NewsNGR.
The source explained, “We also tried to negotiate, but it was our first experience. They kept threatening that if a dime was reduced from the money they would sever her limbs, and they would let us know where to pick her up.
“The threats were getting to my family, it shook them up. We reached out to various family members and friends who helped us come up with money.
“By Saturday that same week, we had the money. They asked us to come to Bwari, and we went there with N20m cash.
“We were not confident to go in. So we hired one of those local Bwari Hunters to take it to them. They didn’t release her, but we are making a move to bring her out,” a family member who pleaded anonymity told NewsNGR upon a visit to the estate on June 15, said.
After the N20m was allegedly paid, the captors refused to release her.
They further demanded a “Bag of rice, a bag of beans, two gallons of palm oil, two cartons of spaghetti, two packets of Maggi,” and according to the family member, “We bought all of that plus the N20m,” the family source told NewsNGR.
Aside from these items, the captors also allegedly demanded 10 new motorcycles, each of them, the family said, cost about N2m.
The family member added, “We noticed that our quick response earlier made them feel like there was money. So, we started to negotiate the 10 bikes. Just a day before yesterday (June 13), they (the captors) asked us to bring money for one bike — N2m.
“We said, we do not have N2m. We eventually beat it down to N500,000. So, they asked us to bring the money. Two of my family members have gone today to Bwari. As I am speaking to you, they have given the cash to the hunters, which is a total of N20.5m.
“The report I just got now is that the hunter has gone into the bush, and they are waiting for him to come out,” the source said at about 4:10 pm on Saturday.
When NewsNGR contacted the source at 7:30 pm for an update, our correspondent was told, “She has been released. She has been taken to the hospital for a medical examination.”
When asked if the situation was reported to the police, the source said, “When it happened, the CP himself went on air and said, they had rescued everybody, but that was a lie, not everyone had been rescued at the time.
“The next time my sister had contact with the police after the CP came on the media, she was told they were tarnishing the image of the police. Then, we knew that these people did not want to make any move…
“…And yes there was an official report. First, we reported to Dawaki station, which was later taken to the headquarters. When we saw that nobody was making any move, we had to do that ourselves.”
The FCT Police Commissioner, Ben Igweh had, on May 23 said, “We have taken our stand on the matter. We said anybody who did not see his person should come and report to the police.
“We have not seen people so far, but we are expecting anybody. So, it is not a matter of reporting to the press. I said report to the police.”
NewsNGR also gathered that operatives of the police were also contacted the night of the incident.
Others Paid Ransom
Our correspondent further gathered from various residents that a total of 15 people including eight women and seven men were abducted from the estate that night.
The armed men, numbering about 20 and wielding sophisticated weapons, invaded the estate through its rear area.
The estate security guards confirmed that their operation was likely not targeted because they randomly whisked away those found on the street.
A total of four houses were, however, invaded.
Three victims including two sisters and a male cousin were abducted from one of the houses. At the time of NewsNGR’s visit on Saturday, the trio had vacated the residence.
Our correspondents also gathered from residents that not less than N40m and foodstuff items were allegedly exchanged for their freedom. The armed men had released the three victims on different occasions, days after the abduction.
In the second residence, the armed men forced their way into an apartment after destroying the door. They successfully abducted a man who was said to have been released two weeks later.
The captors allegedly demanded N200m but he negotiated N1.5m along with other food items.
The third residence was where the 18-year-old was abducted. The assailants had also abducted the security guard of the house and his sister. Both paid the sum of N500,000 to regain their freedom.
Others Escaped
It was gathered that of the 15 people whisked away, four had escaped barely an hour later.
Then, five subsequently escaped over three hours after walking through the hills to a location identified by one of the escapees as Ushafa, in the Bwari area council of the FCT.
The victim, a lady in her mid-20s was abducted while making the hair of her friend outside her residence. She alongside her friend and a man beside them were abducted that night.
She told NewsNGR that a Joint Task Force of security operatives, led by the Nigerian Army intercepted the captors, thus, enabling their escape.
Speaking to NewsNGR, she said, “Having walked for more than three hours through the hills, we were about to cross to Kaduna when we saw the DSS and Army inside the bush and they started shooting at each other.
“But the kidnappers escaped with six people into the bush, and the officers later carried the five of us to the DSS camp inside the bush.”
Of the 15 abducted, nine escaped that night and the remaining six were released on different occasions.