Demand N500,000 as ransom
Barely a month after collecting N11 million as ransom for the release of 20 people they kidnapped in Gatawa, bandits on Wednesday returned to the town and abducted five people.
They are now demanding N500,000 as ransom for the release of the victims, multiple sources in the town have said.
Gatawa, situated in Sabon-Birni local government area of Sokoto State, was until recently one of the communities in the state spared by the bandits. However, the town has now come into the focus of attacks by the outlaws.
In Wednesdays attack, a resident, who asked not to be named over security concerns, told newsmen that the bandits did not kill anyone but were ‘only interested in raising funds’.
According to him, They came in the early morning around 8 a.m. when most people were just coming out of their houses. They shot severally into the air before they started taking people hostage. When they gathered several people, they decided to let all the women go; however, they went away with five men. After they left, they sent a message that we should gather N500,000 as ransom.
He said Gatawa is among the communities that was last month requested by the bandits to contribute N20 million as ransom for those kidnapped from the communities. He said Gatawa town contributed N11 million at the time.
A university lecturer and journalist, Mansur Isa, who also confirmed the incident, said, The bandits have directed the people of Gatawa between today (Thursday) and Monday to bring the ransom. Every household has been taxed N2,500; but the money may not be enough so they are now reaching out to people from the town who reside elsewhere so that they can realise the money on time”.
The residents said the bandits also directed another community in the area, Tarah, to pay N7 million as its own levy.
According to a resident of the town, Usman Tarah, the bandits sent a message on Tuesday and people started gathering the cash, adding: Bandits that we believe to be loyal to Bello Turji have asked us for N7 million. The neglect of the worsening insecurity in some parts of Sokoto by governments is not only giving the bandits unhindered opportunity to kill and steal but guaranteeing easy recruits into banditry. What we are witnessing now is only the tip of an iceberg of a devastating sequel.
The Police spokesperson in Sokoto, Sanusi Abubakar, did not pick calls to his phone or respond to SMS seeking his comment for this report.
