Bandits Collect N10m, Demand Another N10m For Release Of ∆bducted Teacher, SDP Aide

Bandits Collect N10m, Demand Another N10m For Release Of Abducted Teacher, SDP Aide

Abubakar was abducted alongside other passengers during a daylight attack along the Tsafe–Magezu axis of Zamfara State on August 25, 2026.

Bandits holding Saidu Abubakar, a young English language teacher and aide to a Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship aspirant in Zamfara State, have demanded an additional N10 million ransom after collecting the same amount from his family, the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has disclosed.

Abubakar was abducted alongside other passengers during a daylight attack along the Tsafe–Magezu axis of Zamfara State on August 25, 2026.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, YRC condemned his continued captivity, noting that the abductors circulated a video showing Abubakar and another victim, identified as an airport staff member, pleading for help to raise the fresh ransom.

According to the statement signed by YRC National Coordinator, Michael Adaramoye Lenin, and National Secretary, Francis Nwapa, the victim’s family has already paid ₦10 million to the abductors, but the bandits have demanded another ₦10 million before releasing him.

The group said the development has left Abubakar’s family financially drained while the victim remains in captivity.

“Since our last statement, Saidu’s family and friends, acting entirely on their own and without any meaningful support from those who ought to have stepped in, have scraped together and paid the sum of Ten Million Naira (₦10,000,000) to the bandits holding him,” YRC said.

“Rather than honour this payment with his release, the bandits have returned with a fresh demand for an additional Ten Million Naira (₦10,000,000) before they will let him go.”

The group described the situation as an example of what it called Nigeria’s “kidnapping economy,” where families are forced to exhaust their resources negotiating for the freedom of relatives abducted by armed groups.

YRC said it is particularly disturbing that Abubakar and the other victim were reduced to pleading for their lives in a video after being abducted while carrying out lawful activities.

“That two Nigerians, a teacher and an aviation worker, going about lawful business, should be reduced to pleading on camera for their lives because the state cannot keep its roads safe is a national disgrace,” the group said.

YRC accused the Zamfara State Government and the APC-led Nigerian Government of failing to adequately protect citizens amid the worsening insecurity in the North-West.

The group said the victims have remained in captivity for weeks despite the involvement of security agencies, noting that two people were reportedly killed during the initial attack.

“Weeks after this abduction, with two lives already lost in the initial attack, the victims remain in captivity, forced to beg for their own ransom on camera, while security agencies that consume trillions of naira in federal allocations and billions of naira in monthly state security votes have yet to secure their rescue,” YRC said.

The group questioned how huge public expenditure on security had translated into the protection of citizens, particularly on major roads where armed groups continue to operate.

“Nigerians are entitled to demand accountability: what have these enormous sums purchased, if citizens can still be abducted in broad daylight on a federal corridor and left to negotiate their own survival for weeks on end?” the group asked.

YRC described the prolonged captivity of Abubakar and other victims as a “damning indictment” of what it described as failures at both state and federal levels.

It also warned that the worsening insecurity in Zamfara and other parts of the North-West should no longer be treated as an abstract security challenge.

YRC demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Abubakar and all other victims still being held by the bandits.

The group also called on the Zamfara State Police Command, Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigerian military to intensify efforts to rescue the victims.

YRC further demanded that the Zamfara State and Federal Governments account for how security budgets and security votes have been deployed to prevent and respond to kidnappings and other attacks.

The group said it would continue to campaign for the release of Abubakar, the airport staff member, and other victims still in captivity.

“YRC will not relent in amplifying this case until Saidu Abubakar, the airport staff victim, and every other person still in captivity are safely released,” the group said.

YRC also called on media organisations, civil society groups and Nigerians to join the campaign for the victims’ safe release.