Anxiety in Niger as kidnappers issue video of abducted travellers, demand N500m ransom

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In what shot a dart into the counter-insecurity effort in the country, a number of travellers have been abducted by suspected bandits in Niger state.

The travellers were kidnapped on Sunday, February 14, on a highway, with their abductors reportedly demanding a whopping sum of N500 million for their release.

A video of the travellers begging the government to secure their freedom was released by a group of criminals on Tuesday, February 16.

The video shows the travellers appealing to the government to come to their rescue.

VAM news gathers that bandits have embarked on kidnap rampage across the country amid security crises which forced the federal government to change the service chiefs in January.

Gumi says bandits learnt kidnapping from Niger Delta militants, tells FG what to do.

This newspaper also notes that Niger has become a new fortress of different gangs of bandits and kidnappers, with the United States also warning that Boko Haram terrorists are now in the state causing mayhem.

A couple of days back, suspected gunmen ambushed commuters who were returning from a wedding in Rijau local government area of the state.

According to Premium Times, the development was confirmed by one Bello Muhammed, a senior official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Tegina.

Mohammed further revealed that three members of the local security task force who attempted to foil the abduction were instantly killed.

A government official, Mary Berje, later confirmed that “10 out of the recently kidnapped passengers in the Niger State Transport Authority bus returning to Minna from Rijau Local Government have regained their freedom.”

A video of the commuters has now surfaced and one of the gunmen who spoke in Hausa was seen dictating to the victims what to say.

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