Bandits who abducted 27 students and 15 workers of Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State, have threatened to starve the captives to death if the ransom they are demanding is not paid on time.
The threat was conveyed through an audio recording made available to the Punch by Popular Islamic Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.
The audio recording captured conversations in Hausa between one of the abductors and a negotiator reportedly identified by Gumi as a top official of the school.
The bandit who rejected the sum of N2.7 million offered as a ransom for the abducted students, threatened to leave them to starve to death.
“I don’t have food for them. If anybody dies among them, we will tell you where to go and pick the corpse.
“You know these children are hungry. I don’t have food to give them, only water if they are going to die, let them die,” the bandit threatened.
The bandit mocked the efforts of security operatives in Kagara trying to secure the release of the captives. The bandit gave hints that the criminals are working in collaboration with insiders in the city.
The abductor boasted that they succeeded in compelling Zamfara state to accept their terms and threatened to rob Niger state of peace if it doesn’t halt the activities of vigilantes.
Below are excerpts from the audio:
“You think I don’t know what you people are doing? I can tell you how many security vehicles are in Kagara as we speak.
“It is with the help of the people of the city that intruders can overrun the city. Don’t you know that? The person who gave us this business is there among you. He is there with you. Wherever you go, he is watching you. If you want to do this deal, go ahead. From God we come and to him we will return
“Even if you put together the entire security forces of Nigeria in Kagara, I have eyes all over Kagara. Whichever step you take in Nigeria, I swear, I will know. You people are saying they should not pay us, that if they pay us, we will use to money to buy weapons. With whose money did we buy our weapons? If we don’t have weapons, you will just send security agents to kill us and take the children.”
“If I want Kagara to be in peace, it will be in peace. If it is not going to be in peace, it will go in pieces from here until Ilorin. If I die in this process, I have children that I have instructed that if I die that I don’t want Kagara to be peaceful if you don’t do as I say. Even if I die, nobody will come into Kagara.”
“Governors are saying we should not be given money because we are going to use it to buy guns; guns that Allah provides and you are boasting about.
“In all of your (Niger State) madness, you are not up to Zamfara. It was compelled to accept our terms and talk less of small fries like you. You see, if you want to seek peace, seek peace and if you don’t stop the activities of vigilantes in Niger you will not know peace forever.”
“Your deploying security officials in Kagara is a waste of time. Is there a fence in this forest? You know we are not in the cities, we are in the forest.”
Credit: EONS Intelligence
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