The kidnappers of five pupils and four staff from the Apostolic Faith Group of Schools in Emure, Ekiti, have threatened to kill their victims if their parents do not pay the ransom as soon as possible.
The family of the kidnapped revealed on Thursday that the abductors had decreased the demand to N15 million.
This follows an announcement by the police that 13 people had been arrested in connection with the Monday killings of two Ekiti monarchs, the Onimojo of Imojo, Oba Olatunde Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti, Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, by kidnappers.
Gunmen on the Emure-Ekiti-Iporo Ekiti route attacked a bus carrying over 25 students from the Apostolic Faith Group of Schools in Emure, Ekiti, after school hours.
The relatives of the victims explained that the kidnappers, who had first sought N100 million, had dropped their demand to N15 million after negotiations with the families.
The families, on the other hand, said that the abductors insisted on paying the lowered ransom as soon as possible, despite warnings that the stolen children were becoming weak.
Boje Olanireti, the school principal noted that five students and four staff members were dragged away from the bus, despite the fact that there were more than 25 students on board.
Pastor Clement Adebisi, whose wife, Mary, was one of the abducted staff members, said the kidnappers instructed them to acquire the money on time and revealed that the children were already feeble.
“We just spoke with them two hours ago and they concluded that we should pay N15m. They told us that the children were already getting weak and we should find the money on time and come and take them out of their place. “
“One of my children who tried to follow her mother was beaten and thrown into the bush. It was the eldest sister that went to carry her. She even fainted twice when they got home,” he told Punch Newspaper.
