City & Crime learnt that the leader of the bandits, who raided Azara, Janjala and Kadara communities in Kaduna State on December 12, 2022, and kidnapped 37 people, asked the relatives of the victims to return the old naira notes when they brought them for ransom payment.
Instead, he ordered for foodstuff, drugs and wine before freeing two nursing mothers and three men among the abducted 11 people from Azara community in Kachia LGA.
A relative to one of the victims, Haruna Shuaibu, confirmed the release of the two women and three men through a telephone chat with our reporter on Wednesday.
He explained that family members and relatives of the victims raised N5.3m for the bandits, but that money was rejected by their leader when he discovered that it was in old naira notes.
He said, “Last week the families and relatives of the victims struggled to raise the ransom. And upon taking the ransom to them, their leader rejected it, saying it was in old naira notes which would soon cease to be legal tender and ordered that the family should use the money to buy foodstuff and drugs for them.”
He further said that the relatives returned with the money and bought foodstuff, hard drugs and cartons of wine before some of them were set free on Saturday.
Shuaibu added that the remaining victims were still in captivity as the bandits had insisted on collecting new naira notes from their family members.
There was no response from the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command over the development.
