Kidnappers insists on ₦42m for 28 travellers abducted in Plateau

‎One week after the abduction of 28 travellers in the Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, the kidnappers have re-established contact, adamantly demanding a ransom of ₦1.5 million per victim. The total demand stands at ₦42 million for the group, which includes men, women, and a large number of children.
‎
‎Despite the deployment of military helicopters and ground troops to the Bashar District, the abductors remain undeterred, even boasting to the victims’ families that they can see the surveillance aircraft from their forest hideouts.
‎
‎Dawn Herald reported that the victims were intercepted on Sunday, December 21, 2025, while traveling to a religious celebration.
‎
‎The group was heading to Sabon Layi community to attend a Maulud Nabbiy, an Islamic birth celebration event. Armed men ambushed their vehicle at Zak community in Bashar District around 8:00 PM. The vehicles, were found abandoned by the roadside on Monday morning, with children’s footwear scattered nearby.
‎
‎Villagers and relatives have pleaded for mercy, stressing that the villagers are too poor to raise even a fraction of the ₦42 million total.
‎
‎The Nigerian Air Force has deployed helicopters to scan the forested border between Plateau and Taraba States, to rescue the abducted passengers and to apprehend the perpetrators, in order to face the full wrath of the law.
‎
‎
‎