Abductors of 19 persons from Kutunku village in Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger State have demanded a N200 million ransom to free their victims.
They made the demand on Wednesday evening in a telephone call to the village head, Ibrahim Yusuf, it was learnt on Thursday.
Gunmen invaded the Kutunku community around 1am on Monday and abducted 19 residents, including six women.
They were said to have operated for at least two hours and trekked back to the bush where they parked their motorcycles
Yusuf reportedly told an online news medium that the bandits called and insisted on getting N200 million to release those taken hostage.
“They called us and asked for money. They are holding 19 people and they are telling us we should bring n200 million,” TheCable quoted the monarch as saying.
He went on: “We don’t know what to do because we are all in confusion in the village now, including our wives and children; we don’t know what to do. Even if we sell our house, we cannot get that money.”
According to him, the village has reported the incident to the police while “we are looking for a way out”.
