Sophia Michaels
Ibrahim Oricha
The armed men who abducted 23 residents in Dei Dei town, Bwari Area of Abuja, have contacted the family of one of their victims, Ibrahim Oricha, to demand a ransom for his release.
Gunmen abducted the victims from their apartments within a single compound on Saturday night, December 9, 2023.
It was gathered that the kidnappers demanded a sum of N5m from Ibrahim’s family so they could release him from their den, otherwise, they would kill him.
The kidnappers have also contacted the families of other victims but the details are still sketchy at the time of filing this report.
Speaking with the Punch on Monday, December 18, a woman, Rashidat Oricha, who identified to be the victim’s sister, said they are orphans and have no support system to raise the ransom.
“At first, they requested N40m. I begged and told them that we had nothing and that we were orphans. So, they said we should bring N5m. My brother just concluded his National Youth Service Corps programme recently, so he is unemployed,” she said.
“I am stressed and tired. I do not know what to do. We are still soliciting funds and I have not got much, even though people have promised, we have not seen anything,”
The FCT Police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the abduction to the publication but avoided the question on the progress of investigation by the police command.
“In response to the concern of kidnapping incidents in the Federal Capital Territory, the FCT Police Command, while declaring an unwavering commitment to fortifying security measures, has deployed rigorous strategies to prevent any attempt at kidnapping before, during, and after the Yuletide seasons,” she said.
