An ophthalmologist at the National Eye Centre Quarters in Kaduna State, Ganiya Olawale-Popoola, her husband Nurudeen Popola, and their guest AbdulMugniy Folaranmi have been held captive for a month.
According to The PUNCH, the abductors, who broke into their residence on December 27,2023, at 1 am, are reportedly demanding a hefty N100 million ransom for their release.
According to a family source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the family has been actively engaged in negotiations with the abductors.
Despite their efforts to secure a reduction in the ransom, the captors have remained firm in their demand for the substantial sum.
Ganiya Olawale-Popoola, a respected ophthalmologist based in Kaduna State, and her husband, an Air Force Squadron Leader, were taken alongside their 16-year-old guest.
The family source disclosed that the kidnappers reached out to the family on Friday insisting that they would kill the victims if the ransom was not paid.
The source said, “The kidnappers reached out to us on Friday. Anytime they reached out, they asked one of the victims who understood Hausa and English to speak with us. They insisted that they were not going back on the N100m ransom.
“We have pleaded with them to even consider collecting N20m which the family was able to raise but they refused. Everyone in the family is in a state of confusion as to what could be done.”
The Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, Mansir Hassan, said the command was making efforts to get the abductees released without casualties.
“There are lots of kidnapping cases that we recorded in recent times. We have been able to rescue some of the victims and arrest some of the kidnappers.
“The police are not relenting in making sure that all the abducted victims are rescued from their abductors but we want to make sure there is no casualty while we are rescuing them,” Hassan disclosed.
