Kidnap victims regain freedom after N25m ransom payment

Kidnap victims who were abducted in a recent incident have finally regained their freedom after their families reportedly paid a ransom of ₦25 million.

Sources said the victims were released at different locations beginning on Tuesday, but they were able to reunite with their families in the early hours of Thursday.

It was also gathered that while the abductees were freed after the ransom payment, the remains of one of the victims who died during the incident had not yet been released to her family as of the time of reporting.

Recall that some gunmen had on Saturday, January 24, 2026, stormed Erinmope-Ekiti and kidnapped five women and demanded N100million ransom for their release. Among those abducted were a nursing and expectant mothers and three others.

Two additional persons were later detained after the kidnappers rejected the initial N10million ransom brought to them.

One of the released victims, Muhammad Saliu, while narrating their ordeals, said they were inhumanly treated as they were left without food or water to drink and tied together ike goats.

Saliu added that one of them, identified as Hawau Suleiman, died tragically while in captivity, having got exhausted while trekking long distances in the jungle.

“We are pleading with the authorities concerned to assist us in the recovery of the corpse for proper burial arrangements.

“I was detained alongside my brother when we took the first tranche of N10 million ransom to the kidnappers for the release of five members of our family earlier abducted. We met the earlier abducted members in the jungle, but we were not allowed to interact with them. Myself and my brother were tied together and the kidnappers ordered s to embark on a journey of no destination, trekking several kilometres bare footed, from a forest in Kwara State to Kogi axis, with no hope of surviving the onslaught.

“Before we embarked on the journey, the kidnappers, who usually run shifts, speak English and other Nigerian languages. As we were going, we became so weak and the deceased woman collapsed, we pleaded that we should e allowed to carry her on our back but they (kidnappers threatened to kill us. They ordered that we continued moving without looking back. It was the worst experience anyone could imagine. I was freed at the Idofian area in Kwara State while others were released in Kogi State. We spent 11 days with our abductors, while the five women earlier abducted spent roughly a month, having been kidnapped on January 24, 2026,” Saliu narrated.

On whether they could assist the security agents ith useful information on how to get the exact location where the woman died, Saliu said it will be difficult because it was deep inside the forest.

He added that the expectant mother who was released alongside others has been taken to an undisclosed hospital for proper medical attention.