A young lady identified as Najeebah has been reportedly killed by gunmen who abducted her and five other sisters in Abuja.
Najeebah, her sisters, and their father were kidnapped on January 9.
According to reports, the gunmen eventually released their father and asked him to go obtain N60 million as a ransom for the release of her daughters by Friday, January 12.
Nigerians were invited to give whatever they had into a bank account in order to raise funds, but not enough money had been collected as of Friday.
Consequently, the hoodlums reportedly killed the oldest of the six girls, Najeebah, and dumped her body somewhere for her parents to bury.
The former Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, confirmed the killing of Najeebah on Saturday night.
Pantami said he had spoken with the father of Najeebah over the remaining kidnapped girls.
“Inna lil Laahi wa inna ilaiHi Raajiun! I just read about the killing of our daughter Najeeba (400 level, ABU). I also spoke with her father about the remaining 5 of our kidnapped daughters. May Allah forgive her, rescue others & bring absolute peace to Nigeria,” he said in a post on his X handle.
Earlier, a former aide to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, called on the police to take necessary actions on the matter.
“I join fellow concerned Nigerians in urgently calling on the @PoliceNG through its PPRO @PrinceMoye1 to acknowledge and respond to the unfortunate incident involving the kidnapping of Najeebah and five of her sisters #NajeebahAndHerSisters more than a week ago. The information shared by a family member @Adamu_Asiya_ this morning indicated that the kidnappers have tragically killed Najeebah as a warning and demanded a N100 million ransom for the release of the remaining victims.
“We implore the Nigeria Police to prioritise this case and deploy all necessary resources to safely rescue the remaining victims. Thank you!” he said on X.
Reacting, the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the police would need to get in touch with a member of the victims’ family.
“Please let the family members or you relate with us codedly. Let them reach out to me on my personal line, and drop a message there. We have been working on it, but we need some info. We will try our best possible to emplace all necessary measures to rescue them unhurt. But we need to get some info pls. Thanks,” Adejobi replied.
Ahmad reverted later that he had linked the police with a senior member of the victims‘ family.
“Following our exchanges with @PoliceNG Public Relations Officer, @PrinceMoye1, I have spoken with a relative of Najeebah. We agreed that a senior family member would directly take up the matter with Prince Muyiwa in person, away from social media platforms.
“The family expresses their gratitude to all Nigerians for their concern and support during this challenging period.
“Now, with the authorities involved, we are hopeful that #NajeebahAndHerSisters will be swiftly and safely rescued and reunited with their family,” said.
Meanwhile, Nigerians on social media have expressed sadness over the killing of Najeebah, calling on security agencies to rescue the remaining girls unhurt.