Kaduna Bandits Frees Retired Principal Two Weeks After Delivering Ransom
*Victim describes experience as tortuous
Two weeks after being abducted while delivering ransom for a kidnap victim, Abdulkadir Abdullahi, a retired school principal in Birnin Gwari council area of Kaduna state, has been released by his abductors.
Abdullahi, who described his captivity as tortuous, explained that he endured harsh treatment in the hands of his abductors who denied him the privilege of praying throughout the duration.
“Well, I can’t recall the exact date, but it was on Friday, I think and I spent about two weeks or more in captivity. The abduction occurred in January 2024.
Trouble began for Abdullahi when he was approached by a neighbour to help deliver ransom demanded by kidnappers for an abducted woman. However, he was taken into custody in the process.
”I was approached by a friend whose relation, a nursing mother, was abducted along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway while heading to her village.
”She had newly converted to Islam and was abducted on her way from Kaduna to Birnin Gwari. When the bandits contacted her husband and family members, they demanded N200,000 for her release, alongside her baby, it was not easy to negotiate with the bandits but I decided to take the ransom to them based on sympathy because the family was afraid.
”After delivering the ransom, their boss asked why I had come and why I was the person delivering the ransom, that he expected someone younger. I explained that we are neighbours.
"The boss named Bala, decided to release the mother and child but held me back until additional ransom was paid of which his people paid one million naira to secure his freedom," he said.
Abdullahi explained that leader of the kidnap group warned his followers not to harm him, they however, subjected him to a routine of daily beating that left him traumatized.
”It was very bad, even though their boss, Bala, warned them not to harm me due to my age but the teenagers beat me severely whenever he left for operations and I once fainted from their beatings, resulting in a broken tooth”.
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