Desperate Borno families sell homes awaiting unmade ransom demands
Desperate families in Borno State have begun selling their homes in anticipation of ransom demands to free 52 residents abducted by gunmen in mid-April.
Hassan Yati, spokesperson for the victims’ families, revealed that the prolonged silence from the abductors has pushed relatives to extreme measures.
*Desperate Borno families sell homes awaiting unmade ransom demands
Abimbola Joseph
Desperate families in Borno State have begun selling their homes in anticipation of ransom demands to free 52 residents abducted by gunmen in mid-April.
Hassan Yati, spokesperson for the victims’ families, revealed that the prolonged silence from the abductors has pushed relatives to extreme measures.
Yati, whose younger brother and sister-in-law are among the captives, put his own family house up for sale to raise funds. He noted that other affected relatives, driven by anxiety, frequently accuse him of withholding progress updates on rescue efforts.
The ongoing uncertainty has also left families vulnerable to exploitation. According to Yati, a parent whose two sons were abducted was defrauded of ₦1.5 million after paying a fraudster posing as a representative of the kidnappers. The family later discovered the actual captors had neither reached out nor authorised any third-party negotiations.
Other victims’ families face a similar plight. Monday Bako, a local food vendor whose daughter was abducted in mid-January, sold her home pre-emptively, hoping to pay off the captors once contact was established.
Months later, she remains without news or a ransom request. Another relative, whose wife and three-month-old infant are among the hostages, echoed the sentiment of growing despair among the families. With no demand for ransom and no communication from the kidnappers, the distraught families report that government intervention has been non-existent, leaving them financially devastated and pleading for state assistance.
