- Dogo Gide delayed release after collecting fake naira
Almost two years after the abduction of 96 schoolgirls from the Federal Government College Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State, four of the remaining 11 girls in captivity have regained freedom.
ANN reports that the four girls – Bilha Musa, Faiza Ahmed, Rahma Abdullahi and Hafsa Murtala were released on Friday evening after months of negotiations between their parents and the bandits. The parents had spent six days in the forest as part of efforts to secure the release of the girls but only four were released while the remaining seven are still in captivity.
“It took six days of negotiations in the forest before four of the girls were released to us. We have seven more in captivity and two of the parents are still in the forest trying to secure their release,” the chairman of the parents’ forum, Malam Salim Kaoje, told our correspondent.
Kaoje said the girls were released around 4.30pm on Friday but arrived Yauri around 2.30am on Saturday and were immediately taken to the hospital for medical attention.
He confirmed that an undisclosed amount was paid for the release after the parents sold their properties and augmented the funds through crowd-funding.
ANN reports that FGC Birnin Yauri was attacked by bandits on June 17, 2021 with 96 of the students and teachers kidnapped from the federal government- owned mixed boarding school. Eleven of the students had remained in captivity despite huge sums of money being paid as ransom and prisoner swaps at different times.
In January, Salim Kaoje had confirmed that the parents were in talks with Dogo Gide after the government failed to secure the release of the remaining girls. He had told our corespondent that they sought the intervention of Gide’s mother who was then putting pressure on the bandit to open negotiations with the parents. Prior to that, Gide had declined any communication with the parents and insisted on speaking with only government representatives.
Govt paid me fake money for release of girls – Dogo Gide
The negotiations for the release of the 11 girls had dragged on because Dogo Gide had claimed that the Kebbi State government had betrayed him by paying fake money.
In a telephone conversation with one of the parents, Dogo Gide had alleged that out of the N100m he had demanded from the government for the release of the girls, the sum of N60m had been paid to him.
He, however, alleged that while waiting for the remaining N40m, he had realised that part of the money paid to him was fake while the remaining cash had been laced with a chemical he claimed caused the money to disintegrate.
In the telephone conversation, Gide could be heard saying in Hausa: “The abducted girls are witnesses because they brought the money in their presence. I didn’t check the money until after three months. I went and opened the bag and I discovered some were fake and the remaining were damaged. The school girls can bear me witness.”
“So, I said since the money hasn’t spoiled completely, we can still see the writing on them, I will give them back the money so that they can go to the bank and change them for me and I will release their children. But they said no.”
The bandit kingpin said he had given government representatives the option of arresting and bringing the middle man in the negotiation to him in exchange for the girls’ freedom but the government had declined.
He stressed that, “even if it is my father that I realized betrayed me, I will eliminate him.”
In the interview, the bandit leader also hinted that the schoolgirls had made an attempt to poison him and his gang members.
“Listen to me, let me tell you something. There is one other thing I didn’t bring forward. Some of the abducted children committed an offence. They poisoned our food (alongside that of my brothers), but I didn’t discuss this with you,” he said.
Parents urge govt to rescue remaining girls
The parents of the abducted girls have pleaded with government to intervene and help secure the release of the remaining seven girls.
“We did not get any assistance from government,” Kaoje said, adding that “we have done all we could to secure some of the children, government should be involved and assist us to secure the release of the remaining seven that are still in the bush.”
Speaking to our correspondent, Mrs Serah Musa, a parent of one of the released girls described the period of her daughter’s abduction as harrowing.
“I have not slept in almost two years. I could not help thinking about my child in the hands of the bandits in the bush. It was a terrible experience for us as parents whose children were abducted and taken to the bush.
“Some of the parents couldn’t bear the pains and they died. It’s unfortunate that when the children are released, some of them will come back to see that their mothers are dead and some of their fathers are dead because of the trauma of their abductions,” she said.
Also speaking, Hajiya Munira Bala and Malam Alhassan Yusuf Libata were full of praise to God for the release of their daughters. The two parents said they have never known peace since their children were kidnapped from school.
“I couldn’t help imagining my daughter in the bush since June 17, almost two years now. It was a terrible experience for the family,” said Malam Libata.
“Today, I can tell you that I’m happy and not happy because seven of the children are still being held. We want the government to assist us in securing their release from their abductors. We have sold everything we had to raise money for their release,” he said.
