Gunmen responsible for the abduction of the Emir of Kajuru, Alhassan Adamu, have demanded N200 million ransoms before they will release the traditional leader.
The bandits kidnapped the monarch in the early hours of Sunday along with 13 other members of his family, including two grandchildren.
News of the ransom demand was disclosed to newsmen by the spokesperson of the Kajuru Emirate Council, Dahiru Abubakar on Monday.
According to the spokesperson, the assailants also gave the assurance that all the victims are in good condition and were not being molested.
He said the council is still pleading with the bandits to release the 85-year-old traditional leader and his relatives unconditionally, citing his fragile health condition.
In other news, one bandit was reportedly killed while many others were injured in a shootout with soldiers during the attacks on the palace of the Emir; this was disclosed by the security source in the local government.
The sources disclosed that the bandits divided themselves into two during the operation, with one group engaging the soldiers in a gun battle, while the other group moved into the palace, and later took the Emir and 14 others away into the forest.
The bandits, who arrived in the community in the early hour of Sunday morning, were numbering over 200. They came through a nearby forest that stretches the Kaduna-Abuja highway in Kachia Local Government Area, and started shooting sporadically before they were engaged by soldiers that were deployed to the area.
