The former Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, has disclosed that a friend of his has offered to pay a N50 million ransom to kidnappers to secure the release of the five remaining sisters of Najeebah who were abducted in Abuja.
Following the abduction of a lady simply identified as Najeebah and five of her sisters at their residence on January 9, 2024, Nigerians on social media started a fundraising campaign for the ransom to seek their release.
However, ex-minister Pantami said in a Twitter post on his X profile on Sunday that a friend of his, whose name was not specified, has offered to contribute N50 million toward their release.
He wrote, “I am personally not in support of paying ransom to criminals. However, since it became clear that we lost our daughter Najeebah yesterday and that the five remaining daughters have been threatened, as I spoke with the father on the matter yesterday and today,
“Furthermore, I spoke with a friend and a brother who offered to pay the remaining 50 million Naira of the 60 million immediately.
“I conveyed the account number of the father of our daughters, Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, to the friend and brother to send the money directly. Any additional amount generated yesterday, the father can use to treat the daughters and other family members, insha Allah.
“May the Almighty Allah reward the bother and friend with Jannatul Firdaus for the donation. May He also reward all those who contributed in any way to Jannatul Firdaus, too.
“May He also forgive Najeebah and rescue her sisters. May the Almighty also help our security agencies put an end to these challenges. May Nigeria be a better place for all of us.”
Following the abduction of six females in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, one of them, Najeebah, was reportedly slain by the abductors.
In the early hours of Wednesday, January 3, 2024, an X user named Adamu_Asiya_, who claimed herself as the kidnapped sisters’ cousin, revealed the kidnapping, stating that her uncle was killed in the process.
She said, “Please pray for my sisters and uncle when you see this. Najeebah, her sisters, and her dad were kidnapped at their house last night. We lost an uncle in the process. Your duas are needed.”
Two days after her first tweet, she notified the public that the girls’ father had been released by the kidnappers, with a ransom of N60 million demanded for Najeebah and her sisters’ lives, with a deadline.
Following her tweet, the hashtag #NajeebaandHerSisters was launched to fund the N60 million asked by the kidnappers.
However, in the early hours of Saturday, Asiya, the cousin of the kidnapped sisters, appeared on X to declare that one of the sisters, Najeebah, had been slain by the kidnappers for failing to pay the ransom by the deadline.
