Niger State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Muhammed Sani Idris, has been released by his abductors.
Idris was abducted early on Monday by bandits in his home in Baba Tunga village in Tafa LGA of the state.
He was released on Thursday around 9:30 pm at a location in Suleja after which he was taken to a hospital for a medical check-up.
Family source in a statement made available to Neptune Prime on Thursday night confirmed his release.
Neptune Prime gathered that the Niger state government did not pay ransom for the commissioner’s release.
Although marathon meetings were held over the commissioner’s abduction on Monday, Governor Sani Bello was said to have ruled out ransom option.
A government source said the governor said his conscience would not allow him to pay ransom for the cabinet member when pupils abducted from an Islamic school in Tegina have spent over two months in captivity.
In a video, which was released shortly after Idris regained freedom, the commissioner was seen addressing some persons.
He said his abductors told him that they got information that the governor was releasing money to him every week.
“Allah has promised to test us… Those guys who kidnapped me, I have forgiven them. I don’t want anybody to curse them or say anything bad against them.”
“They were crying when I left them. They said they regret kidnapping me. That they were contracted to kidnap me. They (kidnappers) were from Zamfara and the person who contracted them told them that the Governor gives me over 200 million naira monthly.
“They said the person told them that if I gave them less than N200 million, they shouldn’t release me.”
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