Five young Nigerian sisters were violently abducted near Abuja, sparking outrage across the nation and apprehension about security in the nation’s capital.
A family member told AFP that the sisters were abducted at the beginning of the year by armed men who broke into their house only 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the center of Abuja.
She claimed that after a ransom deadline passed, one of the sisters, Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, 21, was killed by the attackers. For the release of the others, negotiations were still in progress.
In Nigeria, kidnapping for ransom has become a serious issue, with criminal gangs robbing apartments, highways, and even stealing students from schools.
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu denounced what he called the “recent spate of kidnappings and bandit attacks” in response to public outcry over the sisters’ case this week.
First Lady Remi Tinubu expressed concern as well, and following gang attacks on sections of the heavily guarded Federal Capital Territory—which is the size of some states but is administered by a minister rather than a governor—politicians and the media questioned the government’s approach.
Over the weekend, a tabloid declared Abuja to be “under siege.”
According to SBM Intelligence, a risk consultancy based in Nigeria, 283 cases of kidnappings in the Federal Capital Territory alone have been reported to the AFP in the last year.
Some analysts speculate that as desperate Nigerians turn to crime for money, the nation’s economic crisis is the reason behind the rise in kidnappings.
Years have seen a rise in the level of insecurity in the capital, according to SBM analyst Confidence MacHarry.
“It’s been getting worse for some time,” he stated, highlighting as a turning point the attack on a prison outside of Abuja in 2022.
In a raid that was reported by jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State, gunmen bombed their way into Kuje jail, freeing hundreds of prisoners.
The Federal Capital Territory’s minister has advised citizens not to panic and pledged to find a solution.
MacHarry cautioned that sporadic crackdowns on offenders in Abuja’s satellite towns were ineffective and that the government needed to adopt a more consistent strategy.
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He stated, “The bandits only need to lie low and buy themselves time.”
Although it is illegal in Nigeria to pay ransom to kidnappers, many families feel powerless and don’t trust the government.
A cousin claims that the sisters were at home in Bwari, inside the Federal Capital Territory, on the night they were kidnapped.
The attackers, known as “bandits” in Nigeria, struck at approximately nine o’clock on January 2, according to Asiya Adamu, a 23-year-old.
Mansoor, the father of the sisters, offered his possessions in lieu of money when they demanded it.
Along with a cousin, the attackers gathered his daughters and tied their hands. According to Adamu, they also kidnapped Mansoor and beat the seven family members before escorting them out.
She claimed that several police officers were slain in a gunfight, and Mansoor’s brother was shot dead when he attempted to assist.
The impoverished family was unable to meet the deadline for Mansoor’s release, so the bandits killed Nabeeha, returned her body, and raised the ransom, according to Adamu.
Even after increasing the new amount through an internet crowdsourcing campaign and the intervention of a former minister, the family is still in the negotiating process.
The youngest sister, according to Adamu, is just 14 years old.
Politicians have backed up her story. While acknowledging the “abduction of six young girls” and stating that a rescue was in progress, police told AFP they were unable to provide further information due to security concerns.
Upon taking office last year, Tinubu made a commitment to address Nigeria’s security issues, which included the presence of criminal militias in the northwest, jihadists in the northeast, and an increase in intercommunal violence in the central states.
Critics counter that the kidnapping crisis is unmanageable.
The fact that kidnappings, killings, and other documented cases of armed robbery and violent attacks are now occurring in Abuja, the country’s capital, is a clear indicator of how unsafe the rest of the country has become, according to opposition politician Peter Obi.
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“As leaders, we should be troubled by the pain this family is going through and the blood of this helpless child,” he declared.
The president stated that he intends to use education to address the underlying causes of the violence, but he did not provide a detailed plan.
In Nigeria, kidnappings rose to prominence in the 2000s and are now a lucrative business.
Though daily kidnappings seldom garner international attention, in 2014 Boko Haram jihadists took 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in northeastern Nigeria.
Adamu said, “You hear about a new kidnapping every day now, even whole families.”
She said that Nabeeha was “smart, sweet, and kind,” adding that she had recently completed her studies and was eager to graduate.
Nobody deserves this, according to Adamu. “Nobody should be experiencing that.”
