Bandits Abduct Zamfara Village Head And Imam, Demand N5M Ransom

Magaji Sa'idu, the village head of Rakyabu village in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, and the Chief Imam of the village, Malam Abdullahi have been abducted by armed bandits.

An indigene of the area, Amadu Mohammed, told Punch on Monday that Sa'idu and Abdullahi were abducted from their houses on Sunday night, December 17, 2023.

According to Mohammed, the bandits demanded N5 million as ransom but the community were only able to raise N500,000.

He lamented that the bandits have collected the N500.000 and refused to release the two abducted persons.

“When the bandits sent a message demanding N5 million as ransom, the families of the two abducted people could not get any reasonable amount,” he said.

"As such, we decided to launch an appeal fund where we raised N500, 000 and handed the amount to the bandits.

"They collected the money and told us that we must pay the remaining balance which is N4.5 million.”

Mohammed maintained that the community could not get the remaining balance at the moment.

"We have nothing to sell and get the money needed by the bandits because they have taken everything from us,” he added.

 He called on the appropriate authorities to do something to rescue their village head and the Chief Imam.