Family Of Abducted Kano Scholar Panic As Kidnappers’ Ransom Deadline Ends

Family members of a popular Kano Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abdullahi Shehu Mai’Annabi, who was kidnapped alongside his younger brother and 11 of his students enroute Zamfara State, 40 days ago, are worried as the deadline the kidnappers gave to pay ransom ends.

The kidnappers gave the family April 12 – 20, 2021 to raise N5m to balance up the N10m ransom they demanded to release nine people still in captivity.

Daily Trust had reported how the family was directed to pick the corpses of four of the victims after paying N5m to the kidnappers.

The oldest son of the cleric, Malam Isyaku, who was at Daily Trust office in Kano last week, could barely hold back his tears as he recounted the trauma the family has gone through since the abduction of his father in March.

He said as a consequence, three wives of his father had left their matrimonial homes as the family struggled to  raise funds to secure the release of the abducted scholar and his students.

He said the kidnappers called the family penultimate Monday, threatening that they would kill the captives if the family failed to meet up their demand by Tuesday, April 20.

“They said if we didn’t raise the money before the said date they will call us to pick the corpses of the abductees.”

He said the kidnappers had allowed his father to speak with him to convince him that he was alive.

“But we do not have anything to sell to raise the money. Even the first N5m that we issued earlier was raised by the parents of the abducted Almajirai and this time we don’t know who to run to for assistance” he cried.

The Rimin Kebe-based cleric along with 12 members of his team, including his brothers and students, were kidnapped on March 8, 2021 around Sheme town of Katsina State by gunmen.

The kidnappers initially demanded N15 million but later settled for N10 million.

Asked if they had contacted the police over the abduction and killing, Isyaku said the kidnapping was  in Katsina and the four corpses were collected in Kuyallo town of Kaduna State.

“We were at the Kano police command along with my mother to lay the complaint to the state commissioner of police. We waited for hours but were unable to see him and that discouraged us to resign to fate,” Isyaku added.

When our correspondent contacted the spokesman of Kano police command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, he said the command was not aware of the incident.