Pantami blamed for the death of Folorunsho and Nabeeeha Al-kadriyar whose remains were among four corpses of kidnapped victims dumped at Ida, near Ushafa in Bwari Area Council
Former Federal Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami made it compulsory for Nigerians to get their NIN, which he claims will make it easier for the security agencies to track terrorists. Many Nigerians who have not registered for the SIM-NIN were thrown into a frenzy but had no choice.
Long queues at NIN centers can be seen from afar under the hot wrenching sun. Workers on high tension, attending to customers. Indistinct chatters can be heard from afar. Different sweats, odors, insults, and pushing. All these wahala just to track terrorists, nothing to show.
The Death of Nabeeeha: Consequences of a Failed Technology
It was reported that kidnappers killed a teenage girl abducted along with her mother and three siblings in Abuja after family failed to pay N60m ransom. The secondary school student, Folorunsho Ariyo, was kidnapped in the Dutse axis of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The gunmen invaded Sagwari Layout Estate in Dutse on Sunday, January 7, 2024, and kidnapped ten residents, including Miss Ariyo, her mother and three siblings. It was gathered that Folorunsho and Nabeeeha Al-kadriyar’s remains were among four corpses of kidnapped victims dumped at Ida, near Ushafa in Bwari Area Council.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, the teenager was the daughter of Ekiti State-born Chief Legal Officer of the National University Commission (NUC). Family sources told the publication that the kidnappers had demanded the sum of N60 million ransom to release members of the Ariyo family who could only raise about N5 million.
“Talks were still ongoing and as of last Friday, we were optimistic of a positive outcome until we were contacted to pick up her body,” a family source said.
The teenage girl was buried on Sunday, January 14, 2024, in Dutse Cemetery, Abuja while the other members of the family remain with their abductors.
Another report of kidnapping in Abuja. A 13-year-old among the 3 victims kidnapped Folorunso Ariyo was executed by the terrorists for failure to meet ransom demand.@officialABAT, is it how we are going to continue? pic.twitter.com/mkXe60XRo6
— Kawu Garba (@KawuGarba) January 15, 2024
Another case has been reported that the kidnappers, who abducted 10 people from Sagwari Estate Layout at Dutse in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on January 7, 2024, have killed two more of the abductees to send a strong warning to their relatives negotiating ransom payment.
From information gathered, after killing some of the kidnap victims, the bandits increased their demand from the initial N60 million per person to N100 million, now totalling N700 million. Residents said the victims were allegedly killed over the delay in raising the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
Pantami Responds
In his defense, Pantami says, “I’m frustrated Nigerian Security Agencies are not using NIN-SIM linkage to track terrorists, other criminals”. To him, he did a job well done but the agencies are not utilizing it well.
