Bandits on Sunday set free seven housewives and three babies they abducted from Unguwar Hayaki in Faskari Local Government of Katsina State after collecting N3 million ransom from their families.
The babies and mothers were taken over two weeks ago when their community came under attack from one of the groups of gunmen terrorizing parts of the state.
The attackers initially demanded N10million to free their captives but later accepted a lesser amount and allowed the victims to go home, family members told Dateline Nigeria.
The housewives and the babies arrived in the community around 12.30 pm on Sunday, sparking jubilation in the community, the son of one of the victims, Shafi’u Abdulmumin, said.
None of the victims was abused or molested, he said, adding that the bandits only began to threaten to kill them in captivity after sensing that troops were on their trail in the bush.
“They gave our fathers until today to meet their demands or we will lose them all,” he said.
“When they allowed us to speak to them while in their hands, all the women told us that they were being treated with respect and fed well. However, they said things changed after more victims were brought to the camp which caused food shortage.
“Also, when the bandits realized that soldiers were moving into the bush and engaging other criminals, they threatened to kill all our mothers should they be accosted by the troops.
“They told them that instead of only them to lose their lives in the hands of soldiers, they would first kill the women and babies before they die,” he said.
It was gathered that families and distant relations based within and outside the community contributed money to raise the N3million that was handed to the bandits.
“It was a difficult task raising that amount because nobody has money or any valuable that they can dispose of to raise the money. The bandits have taken everything that members of the community had, save their lives, Abdulmumin said.
“They have raided the town countless times and emptied all the silos, herded away all the livestock and stolen everything they could find. They have made everybody poor and that is why it took the whole community over two weeks to come up with the ransom amount,” he added.
Days after the mothers and their children were taken, the Chief Imam of the town, Malam Mustafa Hussaini, told Dateline Nigeria that the community was attacked in the nght penultimate Friday.
Dateline Nigeria had reported how the bandits in another attack two days after on a nearby Kwakware village, abducted 18 women, most of them mothers, and two children.
