By Garba Muhammad
KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Gunmen who kidnapped 286 students and staff from a school in northern Nigeria last week have demanded a total of 1 billion naira ($620,432) for their release, a spokesman for the families of the hostages, and a local councillor, told Reuters.
The school children, some older students and members of the school staff were abducted on March 7 in the town of Kuriga, in Nigeria’s northwestern Kaduna State, in the first mass kidnapping in the country since 2021.
Jubril Aminu, a community leader who acts as a spokesman for the families of the hostages, said he had received a call on his phone from the kidnappers on Tuesday.
“They made a total of a 1 billion (naira) ransom demand for all the pupils, students and staff of the school,” Aminu said.
“They gave an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days, effective from the date of the kidnap. They said they will kill all the students and the staff if the ransom demand is not met.”
Idris Ibrahim, an elected official from the Kuriga Ward municipal council, confirmed the ransom demand and the amount.
“Yes, the kidnappers called the community through Jubril Aminu’s number and made the demand,” he said.
“They called from a hidden number but the authorities are working on getting the number,” Ibrahim told Reuters.
He added that the security forces were taking “adequate measures” to secure the release of the students.
Samuel Aruwan, Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna State, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment about the kidnappers’ demands.
The ransom demand amounts to more than $2,000 per hostage, or more than the annual per capita income in Nigeria, according to International Monetary Fund data.
($1 = 1,611.7800 naira)
(Reporting by Garba Muhammad in Kaduna, Giulia Paravicini in Nairobi; Writing by Bate Felix, editing by Silvia Aloisi and Jon Boyle)
