Police Confirms Release Of German Archeologists, Huge Ransom Paid

Police Confirms Release Of German Archeologists, Huge Ransom Paid

The Nigerian Police has confirmed the release of two German archaeologists kidnapped last week at the Nok art centre excavation site in Kaduna State.

This was after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, launched manhunt of the kidnappers on Thursday with special forces deployed for the search and rescue operations.

The Kaduna State Police spokesman and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Aliyu Usman confirmed the release of the Germans on Saturday.

Usman said that the two archeologists working in collaboration with the National Commission for Museum and Monuments (NCMM) have reunited with “officials of their country”.

Reports had it that huge ransom was paid for the release of the Germans.

Bit when asked, the ASP denied knowledge of any payment of ransom.

Peter Breunig, a professor, and his colleague, Johannes Buringer, were kidnapped on Wednesday in Jenjela village of Kagargo Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

However, reports quoting sources from the German Embassy in Nigeria claimed negotiated the ransom.

The source said even though the initial N60 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers was not paid, the ransom was relatively huge amount of money.