Three indigenes of Iseyin local government area, Oyo state, abducted by weapon-wielding kidnappers in Kaduna state, are still in the den of their abductors —barely three months after they were whisked away at gunpoint in their home.
Squadron Leader Nurudeen Popoola, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) officer and his wife, Ganiyat Olawale-Popoola – a medical doctor, were abducted at 1am at their residence at the National Eyes Center Quaters, Mando, Kaduna, on December 27, 2023.
Kidnapped with them is Abdulmugniy Folaranmi, a 16-year-old 100-level student of the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna.
The kidnappers have since demanded N100 million ransom amid threats to harm, leaving the families of the victims in fear and mounting pressure.
Kidnappers insist on N100m
Speaking with DAILY INSIDER, a relative of the victims, said efforts to meet the N100 million ransom demand by the kidnappers have not been fully yielding, though close to N50 million has been raised.
According to him, the family appealed to the kidnappers to reduce the ransom to N50 million, but they refused and threatened to harm their abductees.
“The last time they called, we told them the amount gathered was not up to N100 million; they flared up and insisted on their demand.
“As it is now, we are helpless. We have sold almost everything. We rely on God to make their release possible,” he told this publication.
Family appeal to Makinde, Tinubu as insecurity bites hard
Meanwhile, the families of the victims have appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to come to the rescue of their kinsmen.
This publication reported that this appeal was contained in a statement released by the cousin of the Air Force officer, Alhaji Olatunde Rafiu (Isola), on January 17.
Addressing journalists in Ibadan, he said the family members have made frantic efforts to reach out to Governor Makinde through e-mail, as they could not meet with him physically.
“We are renewing our appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and our Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde to please help us do something within the little time left of the ultimatum given, God Almighty will protect you, your children and your loved ones,” Folaranmi begged.