Kidnapped Zamfara varsity students: Terrorists demand N25m ransom

The terrorists responsible for the abduction of five students from the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, have demanded the sum of N5m per student, which amounts to N25m as a total for the release of all five victims, The PUNCH has gathered.

Our correspondent was told that the terrorists reached out to the families of the students on Sunday evening.

The PUNCH reports that students of the institution had protested the failure of the university management and security agencies to secure the release of their colleagues.

The students were said to have been abducted from their hostels on Friday, June 16, 2023, a few months after some students were reported to have been earlier kidnapped but were freed after ransoms were paid.

The new development angered students who took to the streets on Saturday.

The varsity Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Muazu Abubakar, assured the students that the school authorities would ensure the abducted students were released, but his assurance was disregarded by the students.

One of the students, Musa Shehu, who spoke to The PUNCH, said, “A lot of students have been kidnapped from this institution, but no positive action has been taken to rescue them.

“There are some students currently in bandits’camp and the authorities are not making any move to rescue them.”

However, our correspondent learnt that the terrorists contacted the families of the victims and demanded N5m ransom for each student.

A family member of one of the victims, who spoke to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said, “They (terrorists) reached out on Sunday and said we must pay N5m each for each one of them.

“Our family does not have that kind of money. We need help. We are calling on the government to come to our aid. It is not a crime to go to school.”

Our correspondent contacted the Public Relations Officer of the Police Force in Zamfara, Muhammad Shehu, who, after hearing the reason why our correspondent called, failed to provide further information.

Messages sent to his mobile line had also not been responded to as of the time of filing this report. Punch