Bandits Release Video of Niger Women in Captivity, Demand 130 Motorcycles

Bandits holding 26 women from Allawa Community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State have released a video featuring two of the captives. The footage shows the women pleading for their families to meet the kidnappers’ demand of 130 motorcycles for their release.

The 30-second video, shared with our correspondent, depicts one of the women bound to a tree, urgently requesting her family to deliver the motorcycles. In Hausa, she addresses a relative named Abdulrahman, urging him to assist in providing the demanded items.

“Umar, please talk to Abdulrahman. They have brought me to a service area now. They said they cannot release me until the items they demanded are delivered. They said I should talk so that you will hear my voice. I have injuries on my legs. For the sake of Allah and His Prophet, help bring the items. They said if you bring the items, they will release me along with Hajiya. I am here with Hajiya,” she pleads in the video.

Resident Abba Usman confirmed that the women in the video are among the 26 kidnapped in February this year. Usman reported that while the families of the two women have already provided six motorcycles, the kidnappers are now demanding four more before considering their release.

The bandits’ total demand amounts to 130 motorcycles, with each valued at N2 million. Usman revealed that families of the remaining 24 women have expressed their inability to meet this demand. The kidnappers are insisting on five motorcycles per woman.

“My mother and my sister were among those kidnapped seven months ago on Allawa-Pandogari Road. On that day, eight men were killed before the women were taken away. The bandits have asked us to provide five motorcycles for each of the 26 women. We couldn’t raise the money, which is why they are still in captivity,” Usman said.

In a related development, the Gbenu Boknu Yakwo, a Gbagyi socio-cultural group, has called for the dismissal of Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Brigadier General Bello Abdullahi (RTD), accusing him of failing to address worsening security issues in Allawa and surrounding areas.

In a statement, Bako Wakili Bosso, President of the Gbenu Boknu Yakwo Association, criticized the commissioner for allegedly downplaying the crisis. The statement challenged Abdullahi’s claims of normalcy in Allawa, asserting that the area remains plagued by banditry and that displaced residents have yet to return to their homes.

The statement reads, “We, the Gbenu Boknu Yakwo Association, are deeply disappointed in Brigadier General Bello Abdullahi (RTD) for his recent false claims that our people in Allawa and surrounding communities, who have been terrorised by bandits and kidnappers, have resumed their normal farming activities.”

“We condemn the commissioner’s attempts to manipulate public perception and trivialise the plight of those displaced and traumatised by banditry and insurgency. His actions demonstrate gross inefficiency and incompetence in addressing the security challenges in Allawa and neighbouring villages.”

The association has urged Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago to remove the commissioner and take decisive action to address the security crisis, enabling displaced residents to return to their homes and resume their livelihoods.