The family of a lady who gave birth while being held captive in Kaduna has requested assistance from the federal and state governments of that state after gunmen demanded a ransom of 50 million naira to free the nursing mother and her two sisters.
The three sisters were allegedly abducted on July 17, 2022, in Mando, a town outside of Kaduna, when they were caring for their ailing mother at their family home.
Due to the trauma of her children's kidnapping, their mother, who could walk unassisted before their imprisonment, is now confined to a wheelchair.
Journalists were told that the eldest of the sisters, who was heavily pregnant when they were kidnapped, has given birth in captivity without recourse to medical or human care for both mother and child, as they were subjected to harsh whether conditions,eating and drinking whatever is available in the bandits’ den.
Recounting the family’s ordeal, father of the nursing mother and her sisters, Malam AbdulWahab Yusuf said the bandits broke into their Mando home about 1:05am that fateful day. “My two daughters used to take care of their mother who is sick. That day their elder sister, who is pregnant came from her husband’s house to look after her mother. The bandits broke into the house, I ran out and jumped the back fence but my three daughters were kidnapped and taken to the forest.”
“They asked for ₦140 million, but now they have reduced the ransom to ₦50 million. The family has been adversely affected by the trauma. My wife, who was able to walk unaided before the incident, now uses wheelchair. We just carried out a surgery on her. I have not been myself, I cannot sleep, once it is night I don’t know how my body feels.”
Also speaking, the elder brother of the kidnapped sisters, Kabiru Yusuf said, “since the kidnap, we have been negotiating with them. The bandits initially demanded for ₦140 million but we pleaded with them that we are poor people, so they reduced it to ₦100 we pleaded with them further and they reduced it to N50 million last week Saturday and threatened that if we don’t have the ₦50 million ready, we should not call them again.”
“My sisters lamented to me on Sunday that they were being mistreated, adding that the bandits commander want to leave the camp and may not return until after a while, so we should talk to them. But I told them that we have sold everything we have but what we raised is not tangible and we don’t have anything to sell again they started crying and I broke down weeping too.
“We are appealing to the Federal Government, Kaduna state government charity organisations, philanthropists and well spirited individuals to assist us in securing their release. We don’t want anything to happen to them, if anything happens to them only God knows what effect it would have on our mother, who is now on wheelchair because of their abduction.”
The husband to the nursing woman and father of three including the baby born in captivity, Mohammed Alabi equally appealed to government and organisations even well to do individuals to come to their aid as the two children at home are asking for their mother. “My pregnant wife left my house to her parent’s house to cater for her sick mother, only for me to receive a call that they have been kidnapped with her sisters.
“She gave birth at the kidnappers’ camp on Friday August 2nd, mother and child are not feeling fine, they have not received any medical care. The baby used to cry from night till morning inside the forest. We learnt they were being mistreated, flogged.
Our two children at home used to cry everyday telling me ‘daddy go and bring our mother’ and I don’t know what to tell them. We are all dying emotionally and physically. We are appealing to whoever God will use to secure their release to please help us free them.”