Ex-minister’s friend offers to pay N50m ransom of abducted sisters

The former Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, has said that a friend of his has offered to pay N50 million ransom to kidnappers to secure the release of the five remaining sisters who were abducted in Abuja.

Nigerians on social media had started a fundraising campaign for the ransom to seek the release of a lady identified only as Nabeeha and five of her sisters who were abducted in their house in Abuja on January 2, 2024.

However, ex-minister Pantami disclosed in a tweet on his X handle on Sunday that a friend of his, whose name was not mentioned, has offered to contribute N50 million to their release.

He wrote, “I am personally not in support of paying ransom to criminals. However, since it became clear, that we lost our daughter Nabeeha yesterday, and the five remaining daughters have been threatened, as I spoke with the father on the matter yesterday and today.

“Furthermore, I spoke with a friend and a brother who offered to pay the remaining 50 million Naira of the 60m immediately.

“I conveyed the account number of the father of our daughters, Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, to the friend and brother to send the money directly. Any additional amount earlier generated from yesterday, the father can use to treat the daughters and other family members in sha Allah.

“May the Almighty Allah reward the bother and friend with Jannatul Firdaus for the donation. May He also reward all those who contributed in any way with Jannatul Firdaus, too.

“May He also forgive Nabeeha and rescue her sisters. May the Almighty also help our security agencies to bring an end to these challenges. May Nigeria be a better place for all of us.”

Following the abduction of six girls in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, one of them identified as Nabeehah was reportedly killed by the abductors.

In the early hours of Wednesday, January 3, 2024, an X user, Adamu_Asiya_, who identified herself as a cousin to the kidnapped sisters announced the kidnap, noting that her uncle was killed in the process.

She said, “Please pray for my sisters and uncle when you see this. Nabeeha, her sisters, and her dad were kidnapped in their house last night. We lost an uncle in the process. Your duas are needed.”

Two days after her first tweet, she informed the public that the father of the girls was released by the kidnappers with a ransom of N60m placed on the lives of the Najeebah and her sisters with a deadline given.

After her tweet, the hashtag, #Najeebaandhersisters was created to raise the N60m demanded by the kidnappers.

However, in the early hours of Saturday, the cousin of the kidnapped sisters, Asiya, came on X to announce that one of the sisters, Nabeeha had been killed by the kidnappers after failing to meet the deadline for payment of the ransom.