Bandits have no food to feed kidnap victims and are now releasing them freely without collecting ransom – Shinkafi

Dr. Abdullahi Shinkafi has revealed that bandits no longer have food to feed their kidnap victims and are now releasing them freely without collecting ransom. Speaking in Gusau over the weekend, Shinkafi commended the state government over its effort in tackling banditry. He said it has helped in downgrading the activities of bandits in the North-West state.

Shinkafi said; “There were some people who were kidnapped, 11 of them. They released one and told them to bring N200,000 each. Before they started negotiating, (they demanded) N20 million per person. When the relatives of the victims refused to send the money, they left with no option than to release them. They said they don’t have food to feed them that some have started dying in captivity.“So it is yielding a lot of results and biting them very hard. The sustainability of these security measures will help in downgrading the activities of bandits in Zamfara State.”

The Deputy Chairman of Zamfara State Committee on finding a lasting solution to Armed Banditry also revealed that following the communications shutdown in the state, bandits wrote letters to the people of Shinkafi and the Acting Emir of Zurmi, using receipts of their purchased motorcycles to demand for ransom for kidnapped victims. Shinkafi said the task force in the state traced the address of the motorcycle company in Kano State and arrested some people.