Abducted children of Kaduna judge regain freedom — after 15 days in captivity

Bandits have released the remaining three children of Janet Gimba, a customary court judge, who were abducted in Kaduna, after spending 15 days in captivity.

Godwin Ochai, chairman of the Kaduna branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), confirmed the children’s release on Tuesday.

Family sources also confirmed the development to TheCable via telephone chat.

However, it was not immediately clear if a ransom was paid for their release.

The judge and her sons were reportedly abducted at their residence in the Mahuta area of Kaduna on June 23.

The abductors, numbering up to 15, invaded the home of the judge at night when her husband, a medical doctor, was away on duty.

The bandits were said to have demanded N300 million ransom for their release and threatened to start killing their victims one after the other if payment was delayed.

One of the children, a 14-year-old boy, was, however, killed by the bandits when the N298 million ransom demanded could not be delivered at the stipulated time.

On July 4, the abductors released Janet, holding the three children captive.

She said the bandits had reduced the ransom demand to N150 million upon release.