By ABUBAKAR SADIQ ISAH

Seventeen people kidnapped from a mosque on Tuesday have been freed after a ransom of N8.5 million.

Gunmen invaded the community of Gwargwada-Sabo in Toto council area as Muslims were observing Isha’i prayers and whisked away 17 worshipers at gunpoint.

Among them was a library staff with the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Yusuf Shugar.

The kidnappers positioned themselves around the community and shot sporadically into the air before they invaded the mosque and whisked away their targets.

A family member of one of the kidnapped victims, who preferred anonymity, disclosed that the family of each of the 17 kidnapped victims rallied to source N500,000 each to raise N8.5 million ransom.

He said the Kidnapped victims were set free by their abductors on Sunday night at a thick forest along Nicha – Sabo community, saying each family members mobilized motorcycles from the community to convey them back home.

“In fact, all the entire family of the kidnapped victims were traumatized especially as they go about sourcing for the ransom, as some family members had to sell some of their valuables to raise the ransom,” he said.

He said the “kidnappers earlier demanded N1million for each of their captives, but after intensive negotiation, they now accepted N500,000 per victim.”

The Chairman of Toto local government council, Alhaji Nuhu A. Dauda, confirmed the release of the 17 kidnapped victims through a telephone interview with our reporter on Monday, even as he said he was not aware of the payment of any ransom.

He said the local government was collaborating with relevant security agents including members of the local vigilante groups in the area to tackle cases of kidnappings especially in rural communities in the area.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Nasarawa police command, ASP Ramhan Nansel, did not pick calls put through his phone and also didn’t reply a text message sent to him up till the time of filing this report. (Daily Trust)

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