Despite the N12 million ransom requested, gunmen killed Muhammad Shuaibu, an Abuja-based businessman, and his 19-year-old daughter, Fatima Muhammad.
Muhammad Shuaibu, a shopkeeper at the Dei-Dei Modern Market in the FCT’s Bwari Area Council, was kidnapped together with his daughter, Fatima Muhammad, a University of Abuja student till her murder.
On October 3, 2025, armed males allegedly broke into Shuaibu’s and his two daughters’ home in Zhidu community, which is part of Tafa Local Government Area in Niger State.
After gathering up household members, the kidnappers first took the businessman and his kids into the bush, according to a family member who wished to remain anonymous.
He added that the family paid the ransom in three installments—N6 million, N4 million, and a final N2 million, totaling N12 million—after the kidnappers demanded payment in installments.
“The kidnappers had earlier killed Fatima about three months ago, accusing her of being stubborn, even as negotiations for ransom were ongoing,” he claimed.
The family member further stated that the kidnappers told the ransom bearer to return after the final N2 million payment, stating that the businessman had passed away in captivity due to a major illness.
He clarified that in order to pay the ransom, the family had to sell the deceased’s automobile, sachet water production machine, and business at Dei-Dei Modern Market.
He claimed that the bandits even begged them to sell Muhammad Shuaibu’s home and bemoaned the lack of a bidder.
The State Police Command spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, was unavailable to comment on the event.
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