Abductors of Niger schoolchildren raise ransom from N110m to N200m

Bandits have demanded N200 million ransom for the release of 156 Islamiyya students abducted in Niger state.

On May 27, bandits attacked Salihu Tanko Islamiyya school in Tegina town, Rafi LGA, and abducted several schoolchildren. 

TheCable reported, on Wednesday, that the bandits demanded N110 million ransom for the kidnapped pupils.

However, the situation has taken a new turn as the bandits raised their demand to N200 million.

Abubakar Alhassan, the school head-teacher and a parent of two of the abducted children, made the revelation while speaking with Arise TV on Friday. 

“They say I should not even talk about N110 million again but N200 million,” he said.

“I was begging them but they didn’t listen. They cut the phone and I haven’t heard from them.”

On her part, Hadiya Hashim, another parent of three abducted children, lamented the terrible situation of the pupils.

She said the children were starved for three days and deprived of water.

“The situation these children are in, you can’t imagine. You know they don’t have houses in the bush. Initially, the scanty report we received, on Monday, said they kept the children under a big tree and they starved them for three days without giving them any water,” she said.

Barely 24 hours after the attack, Abubakar Bello, governor of the state, travelled out of the country.

Tanko Zagi, a parent of one of the abducted children, said they have felt little impact of the state government since the abduction.

“Since that day up till now, we have not seen anything from the state government. But the local government chairman has been up and doing so that these children can be rescued. But the state government, we don’t know. No official of the government has come to condole with us,” he said