Family members of the Al-Kadriyar girls have revealed that they paid ransom to bandits for the release of five of the six girls who were amongst a total of 23 persons kidnapped on January 2, 2023, in the Bwari area of the Federal Capital Territory.

While four persons were killed by the bandits last week, the remaining 19 persons regained their freedom on Saturday night.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Sunday, uncles to the Al-Kadriyar girls, Abbas and Sherifdeen Al-Kadriyar, debunked reports by the FCT police and Nigerian Army sources that the girls and other victims were rescued through their joint efforts.

Abbas Al-Kadriyar, who picked up the girls from the forest, said, “We paid a ransom for the release of our girls. A ransom was paid, and the police were not involved. The children called me, and I went to pick them up. On my way, I saw soldiers at the junction, and the bush is a very thick bush along the Gurara Dam, so I had to call the attention of the soldiers to follow me to the spot where we could locate our children.

“The bandits left them there to call us to come and pick them up. But we paid a ransom, and no police were involved. The children were not rescued by anyone, the soldiers only assisted me in locating where they were and they provided a cover for us.”

In corroborating the account, another uncle, Sheriffdeen Al-Kadriyar, also noted, “My elder brother was the one who went to pick up the girls on Saturday, days after we’ve paid the ransom. But the soldiers escorted them back home.”

Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command had earlier claimed that the Al-Kadriyar sisters and other abducted victims were rescued from the bandits’ den in Kajuru forest in Kaduna State by a joint team of policemen and soldiers of the Nigerian Army on Saturday night.

About 23 persons were abducted on January 2, 2024, in the Zuma 1 area of Kawu, in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja.

The police, on Sunday, confirmed that all the victims, including the five sisters whose abduction had raised nationwide concerns, were freed at about 11 pm on Saturday, and had since been reunited with their families.

REarlier, Saturday PUNCH had exclusively reported that the bandits terrorising the FCT and neighbouring states of Kaduna, Nasarawa and Niger were camped in the Kajuru forest in the Southern Kaduna area of Kaduna State.

Highly placed security sources confided in one of our correspondents that the forest was being used by the military for training of its personnel, but had been abandoned, thus making it a haven for the terrorists.

One of the military sources told Saturday PUNCH on Friday, “Kidnappers and other criminals terrorising the Federal Capital Territory are presently camped in the Kajuru forest. Kajuru is the headquarters of the Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The forest has become a haven for bandits and kidnappers.”

Speaking in a statement on Sunday, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said the victims were rescued by the FCT anti-kidnapping squad in a concerted effort with troops of the Nigerian Army.

SP Adeh said, “Following the relentless advancement of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command Anti-Kidnapping squad in a concerted effort with troops of the Nigerian Army, on the heels of the kidnappers that struck the Zuma 1 area in the Bwari Area Council on January 2, 2024, the FCT police has rescued the victims and reunited them with their families.

“The operatives successfully rescued the victims around Kajuru forest in Kaduna State at about 11:30 pm on Saturday, January 20, 2024.

“While appreciating the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, for the deployment of the newly commissioned Special Intervention Squad, which has given an uplift to the existing security architecture of the FCT and has brewed public confidence, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Haruna Garba, wishes to reiterate the commands commitment to sustaining the robust security deployment made in the area and other parts of the Territory for the utmost maintenance of peace for all and sundry.

“The good people of FCT are hence encouraged to note the following emergency lines and promptly report suspicious activities; 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653, and 08028940883.

PCB: 09022222352.” (The PUNCH)

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