A group of bandits are demanding a whopping sum of N40 trillion as ransom for the release of 16 residents who were abducted in Gonin Gora, Kaduna State.
According to a Gonin Gora resident, John Yusuf, the bandits also demand 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles. The rate of kidnapping in Kaduna State has continued to grow uncontrollably. This is the second abduction in Gonin Gora. The first one was on 28th February when the bandits killed two people and kidnapped many.
John Yusuf said the thick forests around the area serve as hideouts for these bandits. He urged the government to establish a military base in the area to tackle these criminalities and hunt down the bandits.
He said, "We are pleading with the government to come to our aid by establishing a military base behind our community where the bandits take advantage of the bushes to invade our community. From our community down to Birnin Gwari which is over 150 kilometres is a stretch of bush.
We also have another stretch of bushes from Gonin Gora down to Niger State. So when the criminals have free access through the bushes to our community.
We are pleading with the government to help us. The army is really trying, despite the fact that they are seriously overstretched. Whenever we make distressed calls they come. But the problem is that before they reach the community, the bandits would have done what they wanted and left."