metro

Kidnappers chained me for 30 days, killed my wife in my presence – NASS director

Published

8 months ago

April 9, 2025

Kidnappers chained me for 30 days, killed my wife in my presence – NASS director

Michael Adesiyan, a Deputy Director at the National Assembly Commission, has shared the terrifying details of his abduction and survival in the hands of bandits.

Adesiyan and his wife were kidnapped from their home in Chikakore, Kubwa—a suburb of Abuja—on January 26, 2025.

After spending over two months in captivity, he was finally rescued on April 7 by security operatives. Adesiyan recounted his traumatic experience during a press briefing at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Abuja.

Adesiyan called on the federal government to immediately look for a way to disarm the criminals and educate them, and possibly reintegrate them back to the society, adding that the bandits don’t know what they are doing.

According to him, his abductors were between the ages of 17 and 20, and they are stark illiterates who were not aware of what they were doing, and cannot even count N1 million let alone hundreds of millions they were asking as ransom.

He specifically said they were chained for 32 days he spent in the abductors’ den, adding that they killed his wife in his presence.

“I want to thank the government for rescuing us. I was chained for 32 days. I want to advise that the government should find away to disarm or arrest them (bandits), instead of confronting them.

READ ALSO:

“They can send them to school. Some cannot even count one million. They are stark illiterates. They are young people of ages 17 and 21. They don’t know what they are doing.

“So if they can bring them out, if they want to learn work (apprenticeship), they can let them do, retrain them, reorientate them, that they can be useful to themselves.

“My advice is to, instead of killing them, arrest them, reorientate them. If you want to educate them, they can then work. That’s my advice,” he said.

When asked why they were in a rush to tell their family members to pay ransom, he said, “When they kill someone in your presence you would give them anything they want.

“For instance they killed my wife in my presence. If they request for your head in that situation, you will give it to them.”

On his part, Ishaya Kuka, a brother to Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Fr. Matthew Kukah, said they suffered a lot in the hands of their abductors.

Kuka’s brother, who was also among the 60 rescued victims received by Ribadu and Minister of Defence, while sharing his experience said he never knew that he would still see the world again.

READ ALSO:

“Thank God for what we did yesterday. Frankly speaking, I was already out of my mind that I’m not going to see this world again due to how they were treating us in the bush.

“In the bush, we suffered too much. They used to chain us, two of us. If you are going to shit, you move with the other one. If you are going to piss, you move together.”

He stated that they pressure people into paying ransom.

He said, “About this money, people are saying that they are not supposed to be giving money. It’s because of pressure that they are putting, if they beat you in the bush, it will make you say you give money.

“Because if they discover that you don’t want to open your mouth and say you will give money, they will kill you. They will beat you. So, the pressure will be too much and you would have to give. ”

He appreciated the FG for rescuing them.

He said, “It is because of the federal government we are out, if not, up till now, we will still be in the bush. So, we thank you very much for what you have done to us. God bless, thanks.”

Earlier, while giving a breakdown, the Coordinator, National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Maj. Gen Adamu Laka said the victims comprising 35 males and 25 females, were rescued on Monday April 7, by troops of 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, in a coordinated operation supported by other security and intelligence agencies.

Kidnappers chained me for 30 days, killed my wife in my presence – NASS director

Related Topics:kidnappers NASS director wife

Up Next

Gunmen kill three Ondo farmers in ambush

Don't Miss

Presidency rejects Ndume’s claims of lopsided appointments

metro

Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid

Published

4 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Trends Admin

File photo

Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid

Chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Ayuba Hashimu, has dismissed viral reports alleging that bandits attacked a mosque in the council area, killing an Imam and several worshippers.

Some online platforms had circulated claims that armed bandits stormed a mosque in Sabon Birni, murdered the Imam and congregants, and abducted others.
However, Hashimu, speaking by telephone, described the reports as entirely false.

“I don’t know any mosque that was attacked, not to talk of killing of an Imam and worshippers. The story is false,” he stated.

A member of the state legislature representing the area, Hon. Aminu Boza, also debunked the claims, insisting that no mosque attack occurred on Saturday.

READ ALSO:

“I don’t know how they got their story, but it is not true. No mosque was attacked by bandits,” he said.

While officials denied the alleged mosque incident, a separate early morning assault on Gatawa town within the same LGA resulted in five deaths and left one person critically injured.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Daily Trust that six people — including two married women, two teenage girls and two young boys — were abducted by attackers suspected to be bandits.

“The bandits invaded our community around 1:30 a.m. and started shooting sporadically. Our vigilantes engaged them, but four of them paid the supreme price on the spot. Two others sustained gunshot injuries and were taken to the hospital, but one later died,” the resident said.

He added that the attackers also stole livestock as they fled.
“We heard them exchanging fire with security agents, but none of the abducted persons was rescued,” he recounted.

Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid

metro

FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools

Published

4 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Almajiri school

FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools

The Federal Government has commenced the official recovery of 157 model Almajiri schools built during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, in a renewed push to overhaul Almajiri education across the country.

The move was confirmed by Nura Muhammad, spokesperson for the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE), during an interview in Abuja on Sunday. He described the recovery process as a crucial step toward fully revamping and institutionalising Almajiri education.

Muhammad explained that the effort follows the establishment of a legally backed national body now responsible for all Almajiri-related programmes — a structure he said was missing during earlier reform attempts.

READ ALSO:

While commending former President Jonathan for constructing the schools, which he described as “a noble and well-intentioned stride toward modernising the system,” Muhammad noted that the previous initiative struggled due to weak policy implementation, including inadequate engagement with Alarammas, the traditional Qur’anic teachers who play a central role in the Almajiri system.

He added that the lack of a strong institutional framework — with the project operating only as an initiative under the Federal Ministry of Education — contributed to its challenges.

According to him, the Commission is now strengthened by law and guided by the newly adopted National Policy on Almajiri Education, positioning it to deliver sustainable reforms.

Muhammad expressed confidence that harmful practices linked to the Almajiri system would be addressed, emphasising that all recovered schools would soon be fully under the Commission’s control and rehabilitated to serve their original purpose.

FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools

metro

Delta State Police Arrest Suspects in Killing of Retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu

Published

10 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Justice Ifeoma Okogwu

Delta State Police Arrest Suspects in Killing of Retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu

The Delta State Police Command has made a significant breakthrough in the investigation into the murder of retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu in Anambra State, arresting key suspects linked to the case.

Spokesperson SP Bright Edafe disclosed on Sunday that operatives of the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), acting on credible intelligence, apprehended 25-year-old security guard Godwin Mngumi on 6 December 2025. Mngumi allegedly murdered the retired judge, and authorities also recovered the deceased’s mobile phone from him.

READ ALSO:

According to Edafe, Mngumi confessed to inviting a friend, Nnaji Obalum, and another accomplice — who remains at large — to the residence where the crime was committed. Obalum has since been arrested, while a manhunt continues for the third suspect.

The arrests mark a major step forward in the effort to bring all perpetrators of the high-profile murder to justice.