A little boy, Muhammad Kabir, who was kidnapped from his parents’ home in Kaduna state, has been found dead, seven days after he was taken and N5 million ransom was paid for his release.
Kabir was reportedly taken from the Badarawa suburb of Kaduna North local government area and is believed to have been killed by his kidnappers, one of whom is said to be his neighbour.
His body was found in a drainage channel in Kano after a weeklong search. The body was returned to Kaduna yesterday, May 1 for burial.
Sources in the community also said immediately the boy was declared missing, a search for him was done for days before a call came in from the kidnappers demanding N50m, and then later reduced the amount to N35m before finally agreeing to N5m.
Abdulrahman Kabir Magayaki, a brother to the victim, said late Kabir was taken away from their house to Zaria then to Kano State where his body was retrieved after the ransom was paid.
“One of the suspects that took the boy away was our neighbour while the ex-military personnel was also a resident in the community. They took him to Zaria from there to Kano where his body was retrieved inside drainage after they collected 5 million naira ransom,” he said.
Abdulrahman said the victim’s body was brought back to Kaduna and buried according to Islamic rites on Saturday May 1.
Another resident, on condition of anonymity, said the victim must have been killed after he recognised the faces of his abductors since they all live in the same area.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Kaduna state police command, ASP Mohammed Jalige, said three suspects, including the neighbour, have been arrested in connection with the crime.
He said they all confessed to the crime. He however declined to comment on the military background of one of the suspects until after the investigation is concluded.
