Metro

Kidnapping Of Five Sisters Sparks Outcry In Nigeria

Published

2 years ago

January 20, 2024

Kidnapped five sisters with their father

The violent abduction of five young Nigerian sisters near Abuja has sparked a national outcry and raised fears about insecurity in the country’s capital.

The sisters were kidnapped at the start of the year by armed men who burst into their home just 15 miles (25 kilometres) from Abuja city centre, a family member told AFP.

She said the attackers killed one of the sisters, 21-year-old Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, when a ransom deadline passed. Negotiations were ongoing for the release of the others.

Kidnapping for ransom has been a major problem in Nigeria with criminal gangs targeting highways, apartments and even snatching pupils from schools.

After public outrage over the sisters’ case this week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu condemned what he called the “recent spate of kidnappings and bandit attacks”.

First Lady Remi Tinubu also voiced concern, while politicians and the media questioned the government’s strategy after gangs targeted parts of the heavily guarded Federal Capital Territory, which is as big as some states but run by a minister rather than a governor.

One tabloid declared at the weekend that Abuja was “under siege”.

The Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence told AFP it had documented 283 people abducted in the Federal Capital Territory alone over the past year.

Some experts believe the country’s economic crisis is driving a rise in kidnappings as desperate Nigerians turn to crime for income.

SBM analyst Confidence MacHarry said insecurity around the capital has been growing for years.

“It’s been getting worse for some time,” he said, citing a 2022 attack on a prison on the outskirts of Abuja as a landmark moment.

Gunmen bombed their way into Kuje jail and freed hundreds of inmates in the raid claimed by Islamic State-allied jihadists.

The minister for the Federal Capital Territory has urged residents not to panic and promised to find a solution.

MacHarry said the government needed a consistent approach and warned periodic crackdowns on criminals in Abuja’s satellite towns were not working.

“All the bandits have to do is lie low and buy themselves time,” he said.

Nigerian law bans paying ransom to kidnappers, but many families have little faith in the authorities and feel they have no choice.

On the night the sisters were abducted, they were at home in Bwari inside the Federal Capital Territory, according to a cousin.

Asiya Adamu, 23, described how the attackers known as “bandits” in Nigeria struck at around 9 pm on January 2.

They demanded cash but the sisters’ father Mansoor had nothing to give and offered his belongings instead.

The attackers rounded up his daughters along with a cousin and tied their hands. They also took Mansoor captive and beat the seven family members before leading them away, Adamu said.

They shot Mansoor’s brother dead when he tried to help, and several police officers were killed in a gun battle, she said.

Mansoor was released on condition he raise a large ransom within days but the struggling family could not meet the deadline and the bandits killed Nabeeha, returned her body, and increased the fee, Adamu said.

The family is still trying to negotiate, even after raising the new total thanks to an online crowdfunding campaign and the intervention of a former minister.

Adamu said the youngest of the sisters is just 14.

Her account has been confirmed by politicians. Police acknowledged the “abduction of six young girls” and said a rescue was underway, but told AFP they could not provide details for security reasons.

Tinubu came to office last year vowing to tackle Nigeria’s insecurity, including jihadists in the northeast, criminal militias in the northwest and a flareup of intercommunal violence in central states.

But critics say the kidnapping crisis is out of control.

Opposition politician Peter Obi said, “The fact that these kidnappings, killings and other reported cases of armed robbery and violent attacks are now taking place in Abuja, the nation’s capital, is a clear pointer to how insecure the rest of the country now is.”

“The trauma being experienced by this family and the blood of this innocent child should prick our conscience as leaders,” he said.

The president said he plans to address the root causes of the violence through education, but did not outline a precise strategy.

Abductions became a major problem in Nigeria in the 2000s and are now a lucrative industry.

The kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram jihadists made global headlines in 2014, but daily abductions rarely gain attention.

“Every day now you hear about a new kidnapping, even whole families,” said Adamu.

She described Nabeeha as “smart, sweet and kind,” saying she had just finished university and was looking forward to her graduation.

“Nobody deserves this,” Adamu said. “It shouldn’t be happening to anyone.”

AFP

Metro

My Wife Is Childless, Refuses To Pray, Fights Me All The Time, Man Tells Court

Published

8 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Editor

Grade A Customary Court, sitting at Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has adjourned until November 24, for further hearing on the divorce suit brought before it by a man, Anjorin, against his wife, Omolabake, whom he accused of irresponsibility, barreness, constant fight and disobedience.

Anjorin stated that their 8-year-old marriage had produced no child because his wife was barren. He also said that Omolabake was in the habit of flouting his orders.

The plaintiff added that the defendant was fond of going out without his consent while she always abandoned her duties in the home.

The plaintiff further said that he regarded the defendant as a heathen since she refused to pray.

Anjorin, therefore, prayed for the dissolution of their wedlock.

Omolabake denied all the allegations brought against her.

She conceded to divorce.

Anjorin, in his evidence, said, “I got married to my wife in 2017, but I did not pay her bride price. “Unfortunately, our 8-year-old union has not produced any child.

“My wife has made our relationship non-interesting to me because of her atrocities.

“Omolabake has refused to be submissive to me. She plans to usurp my position as head of the home.

“My wife flouts my instructions at will and would dare that I did my worst.

“She abandoned her duty of keeping the home.

“My wife refused to do the house chores and always left our home unkempt.

“I took up the responsibility of doing the house chores, but my wife remained ungrateful.

“Omolabake took to leaving home without my consent and would return whenever it pleased her.

“The more I showed my displeasure at this, the worse she became.

“She fights me any time I complain of her misbehaviour.

“My wife is a heathen.

She does not observe the prayer hours as it is expected of her as a Muslim.

“My lord, I am not happy in our marriage because Omolabake has refused that I have rest of mind.

“I pray that the court rule that we go our different ways.”

The president of the court, Mrs S.M. Akintayo, adjourned the case.

Metro

‘My Husband’s Neglect Of Me Led Me Into An Affair With Another Man’

Published

8 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Editor

…She has contracted HIV —Husband

A woman, Mrs Tabitha Iliya, has dragged her husband, Iliya Yaran, to an Upper Customary Court sitting at Daura Road, Kaduna, Kaduna State, praying for divorce over lack of love.

Tabitha, a mother of six, told the court that her husband had failed in providing for the family, a situation that made her cheat on him in order to get fund to purchase their daughter’s drugs.

She told the court that she had stopped sleeping with her husband who usually returned home every three months due to the nature of his work since her intimacy with the other man.

She explained that she had also suffered verbal and physical abuse from her husband, which resulted to her packing out of her matrimonial home for over a year now.

Tabitha stated, “One day, my friend, Esther, asked me to accompany her to a bar, where she was going to meet someone, and I followed her.

“While sitting and gisting, my husband and his friend came to the bar and he started calling me a prostitute and even called one of our sons on phone to come and see what I was doing.”

She said that she left her husband’s house three days after the incident due to constant insults and his demand that she pack out of his house.

The plaintiff stated that she rented a room in another area, but that her husband kept threatening her and even tried to poison her through diabolical means.

She, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve their marriage so that she can have peace of mind.

The judge, Patience Musa, asked Yaran to cross-examine his wife, who then asked her if she had contracted HIV and she answered in the affirmative.

When asked where she got it from, she said it was from God, adding that she no longer loved her husband.

The judge then adjourned the case.

However, shortly after the adjournment, the husband threatened his wife in court, saying she is still his wife and if he catches her with another man again, she will have herself to blame.

The judge quickly intervened and said the court had recorded his threat, adding that if anything happens to the wife, he would be held responsible.

Metro

My Husband Shows His Other Wives More Affection, Woman Tells Court

Published

8 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Editor

A housewife, Rofiat AbdulRofiu, has begged an Area Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, to dissolve her marriage to her husband, Anafi AbdulLateef, on grounds that he shows affection to his three other wives more than her.

”My husband has neglected me and shows love to my three co-wives and his seven children.

”I am no longer interested in our marriage,” she said.

Delivering judgment, the judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, said that Rofiat sent a release letter to the court, agreeing to the divorce application filed by his wife.

Aluko ordered Rofiat to observe one one-month Iddah (waiting) period before she can remarry.

He also granted her custody of their two-year-old baby.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the judge ordered Anafi to pay N20,000 monthly for the feeding of the child.

He also ordered that the father should be given reasonable time to see his child and be informed of anything pertaining to the baby.

The court directed the court clerk to serve Anafi with a copy of the judgment.