Gunmen suspected to be bandits have given six abductees N10,000 each from the N2 million ransom paid by their families.
The victims were kidnapped on Thursday after the gunmen attacked Avu community, Gupa- Abugi ward, Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.
One person was also killed during the attack.
“The gunmen arrived at the village around 1:00 am in large numbers and upon seeing them, people scampered for safety as the gunmen were shooting sporadically. One person was killed and six others were kidnapped,” a resident said.
SaharaReporters gathered that the bandits contacted their families and requested for N10m, which was later reduced to N2m.
The money was however paid during the weekend and the kidnappers accompanied the victims back to their village.
“We paid N2m for their release; they initially told us to pay N10m. Out of this money, they gave our people N60,000. They told them to use it to buy slippers,” a resident told SaharaReporters.
There has been a spike in the number of attacks by bandits in Niger and other states in the North West and North Central zones recently.
About 50 people were abducted by the gunmen in Bassa community in the Shiroro Local Government Area of the state last Thursday.
