A friend has offered to pay N50m out of the N60m ransom demanded by abductors of late Najeebah and her sisters – Isa Pantami
Former Communications Minister, Isa Pantami, has revealed that a friend has offered to pay N50 million out of the N60 million ransom demanded by the abductors of the late Najeebah and her sisters.
The victims were abducted on Tuesday night, January 2, 2024, in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
The bandits later freed the father to go and look for the ransom to secure the release of his children. His brother, Alhaji Abdulfatai, who led policemen to foil their abduction, was shot dead by the bandits.
The family were ordered to pay a ransom of N60 million – 10 million for each girl – as ransom before Friday, January 12.
However, they were unable to raise the money and the assailants killed the oldest of the six girls, Najeebah, and dumped her body somewhere for her parents to bury.
In a post shared on his X handle on Sunday evening, Pantami said though he was not in support of ‘’paying ransom to criminals,’’ he changed his mind after Najeebah was killed.
He wrote: “Alhamdu lil Laah! I am personally not in support of paying ransom to criminals. However, since it becomes clear, we lost our daughter Nabeeha yesterday, and the 5 remaining daughters have been threatened, as I spoke with the father on the matter yesterday and today.
Furthermore, I spoke with a friend and a brother who offered to pay the remaining 50 million Naira of the 60m immediately. I conveyed the account number of the father of our daughters, Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, to the friend and brother to send the money directly. Any additional amount earlier generated from yesterday, the father can use to treat the daughters and other family members in sha Allah.
May the Almighty Allah reward the bother and friend with Jannatul Firdaus for the donation. May He also reward all those who contributed in any way with Jannatul Firdaus, too. May He also forgive Nabeeha and rescue her sisters. May the Almighty also help our security agencies to bring an end to these challenges. May Nigeria be a better place for all of us.
I love Nigeria.
#Najeebahandhersisters”
When someone opined that the NIN and SIM integration policy the former communications minister championed while in office should have been used to track the kidnappers, he responded.
According to him, the policy did not fail in itself, but security operatives have refused to utilize it.
He stated that on the few occasions that the policy had been used, it had helped to successfully solve the cases.
Pantami said not using the policy for the increasing criminality in the country was a disservice to him and the others who put their lives on the line to ensure the policy was put in place against all odds.
