Security concerns escalate in Abuja as mother, daughters are kidnapped, forced into forest
Mistura Olasinde, a resident of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), along with her two daughters, Hauwa and Fatima, experienced a harrowing ordeal when they were attacked in the nation’s capital last Friday.
According to Mistura’s husband, Surajudeen Olasinde, the incident occurred in the Galadima District of Abuja.
Mr. Olasinde, who works at the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), explained that his wife and children were driving home in their Toyota Highlander from Garki to Starwood Estate, where they reside.
“The abduction took place around 7 pm last Friday as they approached Kabusa Garden Estate, where the road conditions were severely deteriorated. It was at this point that the kidnappers emerged from the nearby bushes and launched an attack,” he recounted.
“They fired shots to instill fear and then forced them into the woods,” he added.
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Swiftly, concerned residents alerted the Galadimawa Divisional Police Station, and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Jerry Cole, led a team of officers in collaboration with local vigilantes to search the surrounding areas.
Unfortunately, their search efforts proved fruitless.
Mr. Olasinde, originally from Offa in Kwara State, was out of Abuja when the incident occurred.
“I was in Kwara State due to a recent transfer when this happened. But I was informed that the police and vigilante groups scoured the bush until 3 am on Saturday with no success,” he explained.
He continued, “We also sought assistance from the Department of State Services (DSS). They tracked the kidnappers to a forest in Kuje.”
Upon his return to Abuja on Saturday, Mr. Olasinde disclosed that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N100 million, which was later reduced to N50 million, and finally to N10 million.
“Ultimately, they asked how much we could afford, and chillingly, they even mentioned that they could profit from selling my wife and daughters’ body parts if we didn’t comply,” he lamented.
“We pleaded with them, emphasizing our financial limitations. We also informed them that we had sold our Toyota Highlander to gather the money we intended to give them,” he added.
Mr. Olasinde stated that they managed to raise approximately N2.8 million. The kidnappers instructed them to deliver the ransom on Saturday night.
“They directed us to bring the money around 8 pm to Kabusa Village, providing vague instructions. My brother-in-law and I hired a motorcycle to transport the ransom. When we reached the dense forest where they were holding my family, they emerged, took the ransom, which amounted to N2 million and N840,000,” he recounted.
“After about 40 agonizing minutes, my wife and daughters arrived at the rendezvous point. We arranged for them to be transported home by the same motorcycle, and they were later taken to a hospital for medical attention,” he said.
Regarding his wife and daughters’ condition, Mr. Olasinde mentioned that aside from physical injuries, they were grappling with severe psychological trauma and had received medical care.
He expressed his distress over the situation and called upon President Bola Tinubu and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to intervene.
The Chairman of Residents of Starwood Estate, Kayode Adedoyin, also voiced his concerns, citing multiple kidnapping incidents in the area.
He urged the FCT minister to take urgent steps to enhance the security of residents.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Galadimawa DPO, Mr. Cole, and the FCT Police PRO, Josephine Adeh, were unsuccessful as they declined to provide information to the media.
NAN
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