Nigeria: Spike in Kidnappings, Banditry Have South West On Edge

For some time now, kidnappers and robbers have been plaguing states in the South-West, with incidents spiking recently. Recently, affected governors had to call out to security chiefs for help, and even held an emergency summit. What, exactly, is going on? Daily Trust Saturday takes a look.

In March, 2019, Alhaji Yakubu Musa, 42, a Bureau De Change operator and his business associate, Hassan Umar, were abducted. The duo was taken by the bandit who had allegedly called to say that they had a friend who just returned from America and needed to change some dollars to naira. Days later, someone called to demand N5 million as ransom. The Yakubu and Hassan families made a payment of N1.5 million, and the kidnappers thereafter cut all contact. Weeks later, the decomposed bodies of the two Bureau De Change operators were found in a septic tank in an uncompleted building at Ikorodu.

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