Abducted Emir of Kajuru freed, family members still held captive

• One kidnapped student also released

Abductors of Alhaji Alhassan Adamu, Emir of Kajuru in Kajuru Local Government area of Kaduna State, have released him after spending one night with them.

One of the kingmakers of the Emirate Council, Dahiru Abubakar, confirmed the development.

The report of his freedom came on Monday a few hours after bandits demanded N200 million ransom for the monarch and other family members kidnapped with him.

Abubakar did not however say whether the N200 million ransom was paid or not before his release.

While the 85-year-old second class Emir was released, the bandits are said to still hold on to other abductees.

The Emir was said to have addressed his subjects immediately he returned to Kajuru.

Meanwhile, one of the abducted students of Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna, has been released.

Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state, Joseph Hayab, confirmed this on Monday.

A total of 121 students were abducted when the bandits invaded the school on July 5.

Hayab said the kidnappers called to say that they had released the boy, who was becoming “weak”.

“The kidnappers themselves called us today. I think they kidnapped some people somewhere and one of the persons was sick,” Hayab said.

He also said, “They now called us and said that one of the boys is weak and they will release him with that sick person to come back.

“The boy is yet to be with us but any moment from now, he is going to be with us. So, we have one of the boys out. We are praying that this will lead to more and more other children coming back.”

He said negotiations were still going on for the release of the other students, adding that the foodstuffs demanded by the bandits had been delivered to them.

“We are still negotiating with the bandits. We have given them the foodstuffs they demanded. We are trusting God and we are appealing to spirited Nigerians to help us put pressure on the government to do what is right,” he said.