Pupils and teachers of Apostolic Faith Group of Schools, Emure Ekiti, who were abducted last week, regained their freedom in the early hours of Sunday.
Families of the abductees in Ekiti on Sunday said that they disregarded the government’s warning because they feared the victims might be killed or harmed if they failed to pay the ransom.
Some parents and other relatives of the victims, said the kidnappers freed the abductees after collecting N15m and other items including fried rice, malt drinks, energy drinks, and cigarettes.
Although the Proprietor of the school, Gabriel Adesanya, confirmed that a ransom was paid, he did not specify the actual amount paid.
In reaction to the wave of abductions in Abuja, Kaduna, Lagos, and many other states, the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, had a few weeks ago warned relatives of kidnapped victims against engaging in crowd-funding and paying ransom to kidnappers.
The minister, who spoke after a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the service chiefs at the Presidential Villa, admitted that the kidnapping was high within the Federal Capital Territory area councils.
Reacting to the issue of crowd-funding to pay ransom, Badaru said, “We all know that there is an existing law against the payment of ransom. So, it is very sad for people to go over the internet and radio asking for donations to pay ransom.’’
The Nigeria Police Force had similarly admonished Nigerians against crowd-funding for ransom, especially on social media.
The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, in a post via his official X handle on January 2, described it as criminal and warned Nigerians against the practice.
“Crowd-funding for ransom payment is criminal. It’s dangerous and should not be encouraged. Let’s stop making kidnapping a thriving and lucrative business in Nigeria. This tweet is deeper than you think. It’s not about dragging me or the police. We seriously need to discourage this,” Edafe posted.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, also said the practice undermined security and contributed to the abduction spree in the country.
In an interview on February 1, Adejobi pointed out that ransom payment was a crime in Nigeria.
“It got to a stage where somebody did crowd-funding on social media; this will not help us in any way. It is criminal. It is not allowed. It is condemned. Even the Federal Government condemned it. Crowd-funding is not allowed,” he said.
However, the families of abductees justified the act, stating that they paid ransoms to secure the lives of their loved ones.
