Bandits that abducted pupils of Tanko Salihu Islamiyya school, Tegina in Rafi local government area of Niger State have cut down their ransom demand to N150 million.
Recall that the bandits abducted the pupils on May 30.
The assailants initially demanded N200 but have now reduced it to N150 million, the headmaster of the school, Alhassan Garba Abubakar, disclosed.
Abubakar said that the bandits agreed to the reduction during a phone conversation.
He further disclosed that the bandits told him that some of the 136 pupils have fallen ill in captivity.
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The Niger State Government has insisted that it would not pay any ransom to secure the children’s freedom.
Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Matane, who reiterated the state government’s position, noted that efforts were being made to rescue the children.
He said that the bandits might have made up the story of the children being sick so that their parents would put in more effort to raise the money since the government has made it clear it would not pay it.
Reports say some of the parents have been running helter-skelter, including visiting churches and mosques, in a bid to raise the money.
Refusing to disclose how much has been raised thus far, the headmaster however disclosed that it was a far cry from the amount demanded.
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“I am not part of the committee of the parents going to churches and mosques to solicit for donations for the ransom money to be paid; so I cannot tell you the exact amount of money raised so far,” the headmaster said.
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