Nine months after gunmen abducted Barrister Mohammed Ahmed Wawa, a commissioner with the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC), alongside his driver and another aide, his family remains trapped in fear, uncertainty and financial ruin, after his captors reportedly collected a N40 million ransom but have yet to release him. ABU NMODU writes on the family’s prolonged ordeal and fading hope. In September last year, Barrister Mohammed Ahmed Wawa kissed his wife and children goodbye before setting out for Wawa, his hometown in Borgu local government area of Niger State. He assured them he would return within a few days. That promise remains unfulfilled. It was a journey that was expected to last only a few hours. Barrister Wawa left his hometown of Wawa in Borgu local government area and began his return trip, accompanied by his driver, popularly known as Maikudi, and another aide. But before they could reach their destination, armed bandits intercepted them in broad daylight and whisked them away, marking the beginning of a painful nine-month ordeal for the family, as the NSIEC commissioner is still being held by his captors despite the payment of a reported N40 million ransom. For his family, every sunrise brings renewed hope, and every sunset deepens their anguish. Birthdays, religious celebrations and other family milestones have passed without his reassuring presence. The emotional trauma has been compounded by severe financial hardship, leaving loved ones to struggle not only with the uncertainty of his fate but also with the painful reality that even sacrificing everything they had to raise the ransom has not secured his freedom. LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that the abductees were subjected to harsh conditions from the moment they were taken. Their hands and legs were reportedly chained, while they were barely given food. The victims were initially moved through Ibbi to the Kainji Lake forest before they were transported on motorcycles to a bandits’ camp in Zamfara State. The ordeal proved fatal for Maikudi, Wawa’s driver, who reportedly died about three months after the abduction while they were still in the Kainji Lake forest area around Ibbi. Sources said he could no longer withstand the torture and harsh conditions inflicted on the captives. His death added another layer of grief to an already traumatised family still waiting anxiously for the commissioner’s return. It was gathered that the abductees were moved under the cover of darkness through a grazing route linking Niger, Katsina and Zamfara states, where the bandits began negotiations with the family for ransom. Today, the family’s living room is filled with silence. On the wall hangs a framed photograph of Barrister Ahmed , the only image the family has left to hold onto as they await the return of their breadwinner. Amid the despair and helplessness, the bandits reportedly continued to demand a total ransom of N260 million, despite an earlier payment of N40 million made to them. The family said they had paid all they could afford, but the bandits holding Barrister Ahmed were demanding more money. “We are tired. We are helpless. We just want him back,” Abubakar Ayuba, who usually serves as the family’s point of contact with the abductors, told LEADERSHIP Weekend. He said the bandits had insisted that the family must raise N260 million or risk losing him. The fresh demand came after the family reportedly sold their properties and paid N40 million to the abductors in an earlier attempt to secure his release. The wife of the abducted commissioner, Rahmat Ahmed, said the bandits collected N40 million after instructing the family to convert the money into dollars before payment. “They instructed us to change it into dollars. We paid them in December last year, but since then they have continued to call us every day to threaten us,” she said. According to her, the repeated calls from the abductors have subjected the family to severe emotional and financial distress. She said the bandits often resorted to threats and insults whenever they contacted the family. “They will call us and say, ‘Foolish people, if you don’t bring the money, we will kill him now and send his body to you. We are giving you people 24 hours to bring the money,’” she recounted. Hajiya Ahmed said that during her last conversation with her husband, he appeared weak and unwell and personally appealed to her to do everything possible to help raise money for his release. She appealed to the Niger State Government to urgently intervene and support efforts to secure her husband’s release, expressing concern over his deteriorating health and the danger he faces in captivity. Recounting the family’s ordeal, another relative of Barrister Ahmed who has been communicating with the abductors, Abubakar Ayuba, described the bandits as uncompromising and hostile during their conversations. “The people are heartless. You dare not appeal to them
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