The claim by the Zamfara State Government that the 26 kidnapped girls from Faskari local government area of Katsina were released without payment of ransom has been refuted.
Village head of Dan-Aji community in Faskari LGA, Lawal Dogara, said that the community paid N6.6 million to secure the release of the girls who were kidnapped on October 13.
Reports say the abductors picked the girls randomly from different houses in the community and whisked them into the bush.
In a tweet, the Zamfara Governor, Bello Matawalle, said, “I interacted with 26 rescued girls after medical professionals have ascertained their physical and mental fitness following days of trauma suffered in kidnappers den.
“The young girls kidnapped from Katsina State were rescued on 6/11/2020 as a result of our intervention.”
He added, “I’ll continue to commit to our dual kinetic and non-kinetic approaches for dealing with armed banditry bedeviling the Northwestern region of Nigeria. In spite of the myriads of socioeconomic challenges we inherited in Zamfara State, we’re managing the meager resources at our disposal to tackle regional insecurity without overwhelming the Federal Government with requests for monetary intervention.”
But Dogara told newsmen that the community paid N6.6 million as ransom.
According to him, two community leaders – Abdulkarim Dan Aji and Liman Babangida Dan-Aji – delivered the ransom to the kidnappers inside the forest.
He said that the community leaders walked three days into the bush to be able yo deliver the ransom.
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