Abduction: Parents of Benue medical students seek help to raise N50m ransom

Parents of abducted medical students who were kidnapped in Benue State yesterday have pleaded with the government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to their aid to raise the ransom for their release.

One of the parents, Kwaghaondona Faga, appealed while speaking with reporters in Makurdi.

Faga disclosed that all the parents of the medical students abducted seven days ago were communicating and sourcing for the ransom.

“We are all on a WhatsApp group platform, and we are making serious efforts to raise the N50 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers. The money is not yet complete. I felt really sad when my son called two days ago from the kidnappers’ den and pleaded that I should look for money, as they are starving,” he said.

Faga, who is a pensioner, also pleaded with the abductors to consider the economic hardship in the country and spare the students.

He said most of the parents are retired and old people who are struggling to survive.

Faga lamented that since retiring from the Benue State Civil Service in 2013, he has yet to receive his gratuity except the monthly pension Governor Hyacinth Alia began paying when he took over last year.

He said life has become difficult for him and his family since the incident. He disclosed that he had sold his two vehicles and other belongings to pay the school fees of his son in medical school at the University of Jos before the abduction.

“How do I get the money to rescue my son in captivity? I have been going round with my wife to source for my share of the N2.5 million to pay, but it has been difficult,” he lamented.