A seven-year-old boy, Abdullahi Rabi’u, has been found dead hours after suspected kidnappers abducted him in the Majema area, along Ring Road in Jos North Local Council of Plateau State and demanded a N2.5million ransom.

The boy was reportedly abducted on Monday evening after being sent on an errand to a neighbour’s house.

Narrating the incident, his uncle, Sukairaj Danladi Me Gado, said Abdullahi delivered the message but failed to return home, prompting the family to search for him.

He said their efforts to locate the boy proved unsuccessful until Tuesday morning, when the family received a call from an unidentified number.

According to him, the caller demanded N2.5million as ransom and informed the family that the boy had been kidnapped.

Me Gado said the family had agreed to pay the ransom in the hope of securing the child’s release.

However, their hopes were shattered later on Tuesday when they learnt that his body had been found in a narrow passage near their residence.

The discovery plunged the family and residents of the neighbourhood into mourning.

The grieving uncle expressed sorrow over the killing and alleged that the perpetrators might be familiar with the neighbourhood.

He called on security agencies to investigate the incident, apprehend those responsible and ensure they were brought to justice.

Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Plateau State Police Command were unsuccessful, as its spokesman, SP Alfred Alabo, did not respond to journalists’ inquiries as of press time. (Guardian)