Abductors are demanding a N40 million ransom for Bashir Abara Gummi, a Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) state coordinator who recently appeared in a three-minute clip from captivity.
Gummi was kidnapped alongside other travellers in October on his way to fulfil an official obligation in Abuja.
In the video, which has been shared by several social media users here and here, the chairman was seen in a sombre mood and in what appears to be the kidnappers’ tent as they engaged with him.
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One of the kidnappers, whose voice was only caught on tape, said that the relatives of the victim had only four days from Monday to pay their ransom demand.
FIJ gathered that Gummi’s relatives had initially paid a ransom of N16 million to the abductors, which they accepted. However, they refused to release him and are demanding an additional N40 million.
In the video, the abductors, who placed a call to Gummi’s family told them that they would release him if they paid the new ransom levy.
“If you people like, go ahead and pay the money. Keep listening to advice. We are not going to kill the man, we will release him. But since they are telling you not to pay, we are giving you only four days, until Thursday. Now, we are making a video to show you that he is okay. If we don’t see the money, you won’t see the man again,” one of the abductors said.
A man who attempted to intervene on the call advised the family against paying the ransom, saying the abductors would kill Gummi after accepting payment.
However, the kidnappers insisted that the family must pay if they want Gummi to remain alive.
They also told the family that the government couldn’t save the victim. They said that while they understood he is a government worker, only paying the ransom could save Gummi.
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FIJ called Yazid Abubakar, the spokesperson of the Zamfara State Police Command, four times for an update on his case, but he didn’t take his calls. He was yet to respond to a text message at press time.
There were no updates on the command’s page about Gummi’s release.
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