Bandits who kidnapped a student of Zamfara State College of Art and Science, ZACAS, Gusau, Umulkhairu Musa, and five others have released a video of the captives crying for help in a thick forest.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that the girls were abducted along Birnin Magaji-Kaura Namoda Road on January 15, 2023, while returning from a wedding ceremony.
Ms Musa, who is a final year student in the Department of Mass Communications, was said to be preparing for her final semester examinations when she was abducted.
In the video obtained by DAILY NIGERIAN, a young terrorist with an AK-47 rifle on his shoulder was seen flogging the captives while they pleaded for help.
“In the name of God, please come to our rescue, they are requesting 14 million naira as ransom, and our parents can’t afford it,” they pleaded.
Speaking to DAILY NIGERIAN, a staff of ZACAS, Jamil Musa, said all efforts to get Ms Musa and her co-captives released have ended in futility.
He also said efforts to draw the attention of the state government by students of the institution and other well meaning citizens fell on deaf ears.
“One of the girls in that video is my student at ZACAS. Her name is Umulkhairu Musa. She called me before embarking on that ill-fated journey that she would be attending her friend’s wedding.
“And I drew her attention to the dangers on the road, but she assured me that God willing, she would return safely. Unfortunately, she was kidnapped.
“She has been in captivity since January, a few days before the commencement of her final examinations.
“We have been making efforts along with some of her coursemates to get her released, but unfortunately nothing much has been achieved.
“The government is not taking the issue seriously, and we have retired to faith.
Also speaking, the president of Mass Communication Students Association, MACOSA, Yushau Lawali, said after two failed attempts to secure their release, her parents and coursemates have resorted to prayers and hoping for God’s intervention.
“At first, money was contributed by the parents of the abducted ladies, but the person who was supposed to deliver the money to the bandits ran away with it.
“Another N4 million was contributed by the parents, including some of our coursemates, but after delivering the money the bandits only released the male captives. So nobody is talking about any contribution again due to previous betrayals.
“Although I got information that two of the ladies have been released, Umulkhairu is still in captivity.
When contacted, the acting police public relations officer in the state, Yazid Abubakar, said efforts were ongoing to rescue the captives.
He said bandits who kidnapped the ladies and some other male travellers have relocated from Zamfara Forest to Kaduna and Kastina Forests due to heavy operations by security forces.
“The ladies were kidnapped together with male travellers along Birnin Magaji-Kaura Namoda Road. The police immediately launched rescue operations, and in the process, we were able to rescue some of the victims before the bandits fled Zamfara State.
“But we won’t rest on oars until other captives are rescued”, Mr Abubakar assured.
