Al-Kadriyar family breaks silence, says police had no role in eventual rescue of kidnapped girls  

A relative to one of the popular sisters kidnapped in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, has explained that the Nigerian police had no role in securing the release of the victims from their abductors.

Recall that the family were kidnapped from their home in Abuja earlier this month, along with another sister who was later killed while in captivity.

The Nigerian police had on Sunday announced that they had “successfully rescued the victims,” reuniting them with relatives.

While reacting to the claim by the police in an interview with the BBC, Sheriff Al-Kadriyar, an uncle to the girls, clarified that they were freed after a ransom was paid.

He stressed that the police had no active involvement in securing the release of the girls.

The case of the girls dominated the Nigerian social media space, with people donating to a crowdfunding drive to help raise the money demanded by their abductors.

On January 2, the five sisters were kidnapped in the Abuja suburb of Bwari, along with their father, Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, who was eventually released to raise the ransom of $68,000.

Calls to end the menace of kidnapping in Nigeria have been raised with the growing spate of abductions in Abuja and beyond.

In response, the police force has launched a special squad to tackle the kidnapping gangs while pledging to continue to keep the nation safe.