Emir of Kajuru’s abductors contact family, demand
outrageous ransom
By Annie Nwosu
The abductors of the Emir of Kajuru, Alhassan Adamu, have demanded a ransom
of N200 million.
Recall that the monarch was kidnapped by bandits in the early hours of
Sunday along with 13 of his family members, including two grandchildren.
However, the spokesperson of the Kajuru Emirate Council, Dahiru Abubakar,
while giving an update to newsmen on Monday revealed the bandits’ demand.
According to Mr. Abubakar, the bandits also gave assurances that all the
victims were in good condition and not being molested.
He further revealed that the council is still appealing to the bandits to
release the 85-year-old monarch and his relatives unconditionally, especially
given his fragile health condition.
Meanwhile, one bandit was reportedly killed and some others injured in a
shootout with soldiers during the attack on the Emir’s palace, according to
security sources in the local government.
The sources said the bandits, during the operation, divided themselves into
two, with one group engaging the soldiers in a gun battle, while the other group
moved into the palace, and later took the Emir and 14 others away into the
forest.
Numbering over 200, the bandits arrived at the community on motorcycles in
the early hours of Sunday morning through a nearby forest that stretches the
Kaduna-Abuja highway in Kachia Local Government Area, and started shooting
sporadically, before they were engaged by soldiers that were deployed to the
area.