Nigerian bandits demand for $25bn, 15 vans, 150 bikes to release captives

Bandits have placed a  demand of 40 trillion Naira (about 25 billion dollars in the current exchange rate), 15 Hilux vans and 150 motorbikes as ransom to release the 16 residents abducted from the Gonin Gora area of Kaduna State.

The community leader, John Yusuf, disclosed this to newsmen in an interview on Monday in Kaduna.

Yusuf said the bandits called and demanded N40 trillion, 11 Hilux vans, and 150 brand-new motorcycles for the release of the victims.

This is the first time bandits would make such a huge demand since abduction for ransom started in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s federal budget for 2024 fiscal year is 28.77 trillion naira (approximately $34 billion).

On February 28, bandits killed two residents of Anguwan Auta in Gonin Gora and abducted several others.

After the attack, residents of the area on February 29 blocked the Kaduna-Abuja highway for several hours to protest against the killing and abduction.

Yusuf said the bandits attacked the community twice within the week.

“The bandits have contacted us. They are demanding N40 trillion, 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles for the release of 16 people they are holding captive,” he said.

“Where are we going to get this kind of money? Even if we sell the entire community, we cannot raise N40 trillion. Even Nigeria as a country has never made a budget of N40 trillion.

“The abductions happened twice within four days interval. During the first attack, three people were kidnapped while in the second attack, 13 people were abducted bringing the total number of people being held captive to 16.”

He said the communities in Birnin Gwari are surrounded by bushes serving as hideouts for the bandits, adding that the establishment of a military base would tackle the criminal operations in the area.

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