By Vera Chinonso Aliyu, YeyeNews.com, September 17, 2021
Bandits yesterday rejected a huge ransom paid by the speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly for the release of his father kidnapped in August.
A source in Gusau, the state capital told Yeyenews.com that the money was conveyed to the kidnappers lair in seventeen Ghana-Must-Go bags filled with crispy one thousand naira notes. Though the source could not say the exact amount of money in the bags because of the sensitivity of the matter, he however said it was a very large sum.
Yeyenews.com had earlier reported that the father of the speaker was kidnapped in August at his residence in Magarya village of Zurmi LGA of the State along with his wife (step-mother of the speaker) and five other family members.
A top aide confirmed to our reporter that the speaker decided to go ahead with providing the ransom requested by the bandits after a failed attempt to convince them to release his father.
According to another source, the speaker was accompanied into the forest by a horde of Almajiris carrying the Ghana-Must-Go bags on their heads and a handful of his aides holding an umbrella over his head to shield him from the scorching sun and clearing the grassy paths ahead.
An aide who was present told YeyeNews.com reporter that the leader of the bandits felt very angry with the speaker for subjecting the young Almajiris to such gruesome task just to come rescue his father. They accused the speaker of not providing even a satchel of water for the Almajiris after such a long trek under the scorching sun. All the pleading and promises made by the speaker to register the Almajiris in school and take care of their needs once they release his father could not convince the bandits, the aide said.
The source further told this reporter that the bandits rejected the ransom brought by the speaker and refuse to release his father. They asked him to go back and ensure basic amenities were provided for the ordinary people of the State and ensure a better life for the Almajiris, the source disclosed. He added that if that was not done, the bandits vowed to exchange the speaker for his father next time the speaker came to their den.
Yeyenews.com could not reach the speaker to hear from him as he was said to be in a crucial meeting with the governor to find ways to fulfill the demands of the bandits.
