The four remaining members of the Ariyo family and three other residents abducted from Sagwari Estate in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have secured freedom.
The gunmen invaded the estate opposite Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Dutse, around 8 p.m. on January 7, 2024, and abducted Mrs. Ariyo, and her four children.
The kidnappers demanded N60 million and N50 million ransom respectively from the families of the victims.
Following their inability to pay the huge ransom, the kidnappers killed 13-year-old Michelle Ariyo, Talatu and one of the hotel staff, Akpagher Joseph Terzungwe.
After killing them, the kidnappers hiked the ransom of the remaining victims and set a deadline of Wednesday.
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Sources who spoke to the Daily Trust on Sunday afternoon, January 21, stated that the “seven remaining victims, a female hotel receptionist, a mother and her three children, as well as two little children, had been released to their respected family members,”
He, however, noted that both families have been taken to an undisclosed location.
The development comes after the four remaining siblings of late Nabeeha Al-Kadriyah, who was killed in captivity, regained freedom.
FCT police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the news and commended the efforts of the security operatives involved in the rescue mission.
In a joint operation, the Federal Capital Territory Police anti-kidnapping squad, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, successfully rescued five out of the six Al-Kadriyar sisters abducted from the Bwari area of Abuja in early January.
Adeh said the kidnapped victims from Zuma 1 area in the Bwari Area Council were rescued from the Kajuru forest in Kaduna State around 11:30 p.m on Saturday, January 20, 2024.
Expressing gratitude to Inspector-General of Police IGP Olukayode Egbetokun for deploying the newly commissioned Special Intervention Squad, which enhanced the security architecture of the FCT, Commissioner of Police for FCT Command, CP Haruna Garba, stressed the command’s commitment to sustaining robust security deployment in the region.
Garba urged the people of FCT to utilise emergency lines for reporting suspicious activities promptly. The provided contact numbers include 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653, and 08028940883, along with PCB: 09022222352.
