The kidnappers of Barrister Cyril Adikwu’s wife and two inlaws have demanded a ransom of over 30 million naira.
Adikwu’s home located at the Nigerian Army Post Housing Estate in the Kurudu area of Abuja came under attack on Thursday night, January 18.
The Abuja-based lawyer who narrowly escaped the attack, told journalists that the kidnappers contacted him within an hour after the incident and threatened to kill the hostages if he fails to comply.
“I don’t want to mention the amount because already false information is everywhere in the media about the whole incident but I can assure you it’s more than 30 million. I am traumatized right now after the whole incident and the kidnappers have been calling me and have given a time frame,” he said.
Narrating the incident, he said, “I was upstairs and heard strange sounds so I peeped through the burglary door upstairs and saw one of them who was kidnapped on the floor and I asked what is going on there and she said ‘I don’t know these men are asking me to go down’ then it occurred to me they were kidnappers then I started screaming ‘Kidnappers help’ at the top of my voice, at this point they started shooting at me upstairs then I was able to escape and then they started shooting guns in the air while they took the three of them away.”
He noted that the kidnappers were about eight in number and they walked through the hilly parts of the area.
Adikwu appealed to the authorities and the public to help him secure the release of his loved ones, saying he could not afford the ransom.
Meanwhile, the Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has blamed the rising cases of kidnapping on the payment of ransoms by the victims’ families and sympathizers, saying it encourages the criminals to continue their nefarious activities.
He said the government has a law against the payment of ransoms and urged the public to stop crowdfunding for such purposes, as it only worsens the situation.
“We believe we have to stop – as painful as it is. We have to stop responding to payment on ransom. If we stop, over time kidnapping will not be profitable and they will stop,” he said.
He also said the security agencies were working hard to push out the kidnappers from the FCT and other parts of the country and finish them off once and for all.
