Bandits have reportedly demanded N40 trillion as a ransom to release the 16 residents abducted from the Gonin Gora area of Kaduna.
Speaking with TheCable on Monday, John Yusuf, a community
leader, said the bandits contacted family members of the victims and also
demanded 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles.
This is the first time bandits would make such a huge demand
since abduction for ransom started in Nigeria.
On February 28, bandits killed two residents of Anguwan Auta
in Gonin Gora and abducted several others.
After the attack, residents of the area on February 29
blocked the Kaduna-Abuja highway for several hours to protest against the
killing and abduction.
Yusuf said the bandits attacked the community twice within
the week.
“The bandits have contacted us. They are demanding N40
trillion, 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles for the release of 16 people they
are holding captive,” he said.
“Where are we going
to get this kind of money? Even if we
sell the entire community, we cannot raise N40 trillion. Even Nigeria as a
country has never made a budget of N40 trillion.
“The abductions happened twice within four days interval.
During the first attack, three people were kidnapped while in the second
attack, 13 people were abducted bringing the total number of people being held
captive to 16.”
He said the communities in Birnin Gwari are surrounded by
bushes serving as hideouts for the bandits, adding that the establishment of a
military base would tackle the criminal operations in the area.
“We are pleading with the government to come to our aid by
establishing a military base behind our community where the bandits take
advantage of the bushes to invade our community,” Yusuf said.
“From our community
down to Birnin Gwari which is over 150 kilometres is a stretch of bush.
“We also have another stretch of bushes from Gonin Gora down
to Niger state.
“So when the criminals have free access through the bushes
to our community. We are pleading with the government to help us.
“The army are really trying, despite the fact that they are seriously
overstretched. Whenever we make distressed calls they come.
“But the problem is
that before they reach the community, the bandits would have done what they
wanted and left.”
The community leader commended the Nigerian Army for their
efforts in fighting bandits.
He called on the federal government to take necessary
actions to address banditry saying, “if not it is going to consume all of us”.
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Gunmi is telling the president to dialogue with the people that is rain havoc in a community, abducting your children, rapping your wives, forcefully marrying out your children to their member, and Nigerian government has never thought that soldiers are suppose to relocate their base to those prone areas, has IPOB done have of this?, IPOB told you they want to go to their separate ways, since then, Nnamdi Kalu is still in detention, while Gunmi, whos is indirectly supporting Banditry and giving out information to them is telling us to dialogue with his boys, He should have told the president to mark budget for bandit in every allocation.
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