Gunmen suspected of kidnapping have allegedly taken a family of three and four people from the Ivbiaro hamlet in the Owan East Local Government Area.
The Intercept reports that the family were travelling with the other four victims who are their family friends from Kaduna State to the community to attend the 40-day fidau prayer of a late mother-in-law.
A father, mother, and son were among the family members abducted; the driver fled into the jungle.
According to information obtained, the victims were abducted on Thursday at a location a short distance from the Auchi-Warrake road’s security checkpoint, a few meters from the neighbourhood.
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The family rented a car from Kaduna State to the village to attend the event on Saturday, May 3, 2025, according to a person close to the victims.
However, the kidnappers left a woman and her two children behind and held the other four captives, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said that due to her children’s crying, the mother and her two kids were left behind.
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He said that the family’s father, Mallam Nezifi, and his wife were subsequently freed by the alleged abductors, but that his son and a female friend who was also going with them to the village for the prayers were captured.
The kidnappers want a ransom of N10 million, he continued.
He claimed that because the prayers could no longer be held, the development had left the entire town in disarray.
According to reports, the family is making every effort to obtain the ransom in order to release the victims who were kidnapped.
