Kidnappers who abducted a hotel owner, his manager, and a guest in the Gauraka community of Tafa LGA, Niger State, have shot them dead after collecting a N25 million ransom.
City & Crime learned that two vigilantes from the community, Abubakar Muhammad and Ibrahim Garba, who delivered the ransom to the kidnappers, were also killed by the bandits.
Yau Ahmad, an ex-Chairman of Tafa LGA and a relative of one of the vigilantes, reported that the victims were shot dead in the Dogon-Daji Forest, which borders Kaduna and Niger States, as well as the FCT.
He said the remains of the victims were taken to the air force base near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after they were found in the bush.
Hussaini Abubakar, commander of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) in Tafa, stated that the remains of his colleagues were laid to rest on Saturday following clearance from the army.
He also mentioned that a man abducted from the community about a month earlier had been rescued with gunshot injuries and was receiving treatment at an army medical facility in Abuja.
Daily Trust reported that the victims were kidnapped in the early hours of August 17, 2024.
A local resident, who identified himself as Musa, said the attackers raided the hotel around 1 a.m., abducting all the guests present.
Sabo Abdullahi, the commander of the local security vigilante, named the victims as the hotel owner, his younger brother, his wife, the hotel manager, and other guests.
He noted that the bandits forced open the gate of the hotel upon arrival and fired gunshots while leaving with their captives, which attracted the attention of others.
He stated, “There was only one member of the security hunters nearby, and he fled upon seeing them. We were camped in the central part of the town, and it was already late when we received the information.”
Residents expressed their concerns over the ongoing attacks on the town by bandits, noting that the gunmen often take their victims to the forests near the Apo community and along the Ijah-Koro and Ijah-Gwari Roads, leading to Bwari town in the FCT.
City & Crime reports that Gauraka has experienced at least five kidnapping incidents in the past four months.
