35 motorcycles and N1 billion are now part of the ransom demands made by the kidnappers of 37 Kaduna worshippers from Ariko Community, Kachia Local Government Area, Kaduna State, according to reports.
Danjuma Doka, son of the oldest Kaduna worshippers in the kidnapper’s den, explaining the details to Foundation of Investigation Journalism on Saturday morning, said that the kidnappers made this new demand on Thursday following weeks of negotiations.
According to Doka, who has been the community’s negotiator with the terrorists, also detailed the specifics of the motorcycles they want before they release the abducted Kaduna worshippers. He described them as wanting 15 Bajaj bikes and 20 of a local brand known as Boko Haram.
“Yes, they are demanding 35 motorcycles, and those motorcycles are not the same type. They want 20 of one called Boko Haram, and 15 Bajaj motorcycles, in addition to N1 billion”, Doka was quoted to have said.
Doka recounted how his wife, daughter, and siblings were kidnapped by the abductors in December 2024 while they were returning home from a wedding celebration in Utako, Abuja.
Despite the fact that his wife and daughter, who were nursing a newborn, had to spend two months in prison, he pointed out that their release cost him N25 million.
“On December 22, 2024, they kidnapped my family (my wife, my daughter, my younger sister), the bus carrying only my family, about 11 people. All of them were coming from a wedding in Utako, early in the morning, when they were ambushed on their way into Ariko.
“My wife spent two months in the bush. She was the last person to be released. My daughter, who was nursing a child, also stayed there for two months. I paid N25 million for their ransom.”
He then added that his father, who was kidnapped from St. Augustine Catholic Church in Ariko, and another elderly guy from the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in the same neighborhood are among the victims.
He mentioned that his father and the other old men are blind and have trouble getting around.
“My biological father is one of the victims; he is about 78. He was in the church, the St. Augustine Catholic Church, and my father is not that strong enough. He is a blind man, not that he can see clearly, and there’s someone else from the ECWA church, who is also blind.”
Doka clarified the Nigerian Army‘s claim of rescue, stating that the individuals who were believed to have been saved were those who had fled into the woods following the militants’ storming of the church area.
Regarding the ransom, Doka stated that it has been hard to raise the N1 billion despite the kidnappers’ repeated calls.
“How can we raise the N1 billion? Even yesterday, when they were disturbing me, I told them that since they said they can’t lower their demand, what do they want me to tell them?
“But they asked that I speak, and I made an offer of N500,000. They said I should bring it, but I asked that they release some of the victims first and let them get home, so I can know they are serious”, he said.
He also called on the intervention of the government as it noted that the youths of the community cannot do it alone.
“If the government is really ready, let the security forces enter that bush, and they will see them. Even some of our youths are ready to volunteer to enter the bush, but they need security backup. But the government is not serious, as it doesn’t want to hear that”, he noted.
Attack on Kaduna worshippers
Recall that ENigeria Newspaper reported that terrorists attacked Ariko community in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State, targeted two Christian worship centres during Easter celebrations, killed at least seven persons and abducted several others.
