The terrorists who abducted over 200 students and staff of a LEA Primary School, Kuriga, Kaduna State, have demanded N1billion as ransom to secure their release.
This was disclosed to Reuters by Kuriga ward councillor Idris Ibrahim and Jubril Aminu, a community leader who acts as a spokesperson for the families of the abductees.
Mr Aminu told the news agency that the kidnappers contacted him via telephone on Tuesday to discuss the ransom.
“They made a total of N1billion ransom demand for all the pupils, students, and staff of the school,” he said.
He added that the kidnappers threatened to kill the abductees if the ransom was not paid within 20 days.
“They gave an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days, effective from the date of the kidnap. They said they would kill all the students and the staff if the ransom demand was not met,” he said.
His information was corroborated by Mr Ibrahim, who disclosed that the terrorist called with a hidden number.
He assured that the authorities are working on unravelling the phone number.
“Yes, the kidnappers called the community through Jubril Aminu’s number and made the demand.
“They called with a hidden number, but the authorities are working on getting the number,” he said.
The Kaduna State supervisory commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Samuel Aruwan, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment about the kidnappers’ demands.
