Bandits in Zamfara State have evaded the telecommunication blackout in many parts of the state to reach out to families of two graduates abducted en route to the National Youth Service orientation camp in Kebbi State.
The kidnappers reportedly demanded N2m ransom for each of the victims, Jennifer Iorliam and Joseph Aondona, and two other commuters kidnapped along with them.
City Round learnt that the victims boarded a bus from Benue State to Sokoto State on Tuesday before they were intercepted around Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The driver of the bus and some passengers were said to have escaped and reported the incident at police stations in Zamfara and Benue states.
Judith Benson, the elder sister of 29-year-old Iorliam, told our correspondent on the phone on Thursday that the kidnappers had reached out to the family and demanded N2m ransom.
She said the kidnappers revealed that they moved to Gusau where the mobile network ban had been lifted to make calls and vowed to return the victims to the forest if the ransom was not paid on time.
Benson stated, “The bandits have contacted us. They called my mother’s line and allowed my sister to talk to us. They kidnapped four Benue people together with my sister and another corps member named Joseph. The first time they called us, they demanded N3m. After we begged them, they reduced it to N2m. They said they would collect N2m for each of them.
THE PUNCH
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