Kaduna kidnapping: Terrorists demand N1bn ransom, give 20 days ultimatum

Kidnappers of the Kaduna school children are demanding a total of 1 billion naira ($620,432) for the release of their hostages after making a contact with a spokesperson for the families affected. 

Reuters news agency reported that the kidnappers also vowed to kill the students and staff in 20 days if their demand is not met by the families. 

Kaduna State was thrown into chaos on the 7th of March, 2024, after bandits attacked the Kuriga community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. 

The armed group then went away with 286 students including some teachers at the LEA Primary School Kuriga with no security officials to halt their reign of terror.

The lives of the students are hanging in the balance, despite the declaration of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration that no ransom will be paid to the terrorists. 

Mr. Tinubu has directed the security agencies to go after the kidnappers and ensure that the schoolchildren are released unharmed.

The abductors, according to Jubril Aminu, a community leader who acts as a spokesman for the families of the hostages, said: “They made a total of a 1 billion (naira) ransom demand for all the pupils, students and staff of the school,” Aminu said.

“They gave an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days, effective from the date of the kidnap. They said they will kill all the students and the staff if the ransom demand is not met.”

While confirming the ransom demand and the huge sum, Idris Ibrahim, an elected official from the Kuriga Ward municipal council, said, “Yes, the kidnappers called the community through Jubril Aminu’s number and made the demand.”

“They called from a hidden number but the authorities are working on getting the number,” Ibrahim told Reuters. 

He stressed that security agencies were taking “adequate measures” to secure the release of the students.

Mass kidnapping of schoolchildren in northern Nigeria is common since the 2014 abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno state.

In recent years, the abductions have become dominant in the northwestern and central regions, where hundreds of armed groups frequently target villagers and travelers for large ransom payments