Bandits Free 56 Kidnapped Victims In Niger State After 6 Months

Bandits have set free the remaining 56 kidnapped victims from Kafin Koro and Kwagana wards in the Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State.

It would recalled that, on March 14, 2023, the terrorists launched an attack on Kaffin-Koro and the neighboring communities, seizing more than 60 residents, primarily individuals engaged in farming activities.

Following the incident, a number of the victims were subsequently freed after their families had paid ransoms to the terrorists.

In June, the gunmen released a video in which they issued a threat to the victims, stating that unless their families complied with the demanded ransom, the victims would face the risk of being killed.

Confirming the occurrence on Thursday, August 24, Sabastine Maikarfi, the coordinator of the Kaffin-Koro Axis Concerned Youth, affirmed that the victims had been liberated on August 6.

According to him, the victims were released following the payment of a ransom.

Similarly, the coordinator of Justice, Development and Peace Commission, Catholic Diocese of Minna, Rev. Fr Bahago Dauda Musa, while confirming the release, said victims are in need of mental health support to recover from the trauma.

“My interactions with the victims of banditry in Niger State have not been a wonderful one; it has been a traumatic one. These victims had gone through a lot of trauma; so many of them were kidnapped, or loved ones had been kidnapped,” he said.

“So, so many of them who had returned from the hands of bandits after weeks or months in captivity are now battling with post-traumatic disorder and that is seriously affecting their mental health.”

He appealed to the state government and experts to assist in rendering mental health support to the abductees to enable them to recover from the post-abduction traumatic disorder.