Abductors Demanding N94m Ransom For 47 Farmers – Niger LG Chair

The chairman of Mariga local government area of Niger state, Hon. Mohammed Aliyu, has hinted that the majority of the 47 farmers abducted by bandits in his area were women, including pregnant ones

In a telephone interview, he admitted that the local government is under siege as the people come under constant bandit attacks.

Aliyu saidthe last abduction on Sunday was targeted at farmers who were harvesting groundnut and other produce.

He said the bandits abducted both men and women from the farms, but that women were more because the harvest was mainly carried out by them.

He said the report he received indicated that some of the abducted women were pregnant and one of them gave birth in the bandits’ captivity, due to the pressure.

The chairman said that some of the villages the bandits attacked had been abandoned by their residents because they feared further invasion.

He said the military and local vigilantes were on the trail of the bandits, adding that in the process, some of they sustained injuries.

Aliyu said, “The farms are located in Tunga Rimi via Kasuwa Garba, it was not that they attacked the village, they abducted those who were farming near the village.”

LEADERSHIP reports that the bandits are demanding almost N100 million.

When asked whether the bandits had made contact, he said they were demanding N2 million each on the 47 abductees.

The police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, had earlier confirmed the abduction to LEADERSHIP but stated that the record showed that only 20 of the farmers were abducted.