A nephew of the former Head of Department (HOD) of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of Kaduna Polytechnic Dr Ramatu Sangei, popularly known as Mrs Abarshi, set her up for kidnapping by bandits, it has emerged.
Mrs Abarshi, who is the widow of late Air Commodore A. Abarshi, was kidnapped alongside her daughter Ameera and their driver while returning from a philanthropic gesture under her NGO known as Barkindo Rahama Initiative (BRAIN), which is helping women, youth and the less privileged.
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The driver, who has also been released few days after Dr Ramatu regained her freedom, spoke in a telephone conversation with one Malam Ali who apparently played a role in his release. He said the bandits that kidnapped them were so many. Dateline Nigeria could not establish the date the conversation took place, but it was sent to our reporter on Sunday night.
He said most of the children that benefited from Dr Ramatu’s gesture on the day they were kidnapped were under five years, adding that the nephew [the son of her sister of the same parents] was actually the one who invited her to the community to help them.
“The beneficiaries were not related to her, even though they are Fulani. We went there and shared the materials without any incident. When we finished, I wanted to go back through Saminaka and Gadan Gayan, because that was the route I used to go there.
“But the nephew said we should take the Zangon Kataf road. I raised concern over insecurity, which he also agreed but insisted that the route was better. Somehow, Hajiya and her daughter supported him. I therefore had to follow the route.
When we reached a certain community, he stopped us and made us to waste time unnecessarily by waiting for him. When I tried calling his number to ask him to hasten up, we realised that the number he gave us was not his. And I was rushing to reach Sabon Tasha where I can break my fast [it was on the 20th of Ramadan].
After some time, he returned to meet all of us angry. He had called someone on the phone in my presence saying he has an exam to write on Monday and we were travelling on a Sunday. Later he claimed that they sent him a text informing him of the postponement of the exam.
“From there I didn’t say anything and they continued conversing in Fulfulde with Hajiya. When we reached Kachia, it was already getting dark. By the time we reached Crossing, he said we should drop him there. I asked him why he was dropping there and he said he wanted to pass the night at his friend’s place.
“Hajiya asked whether we should stop there too and say our prayers, but he advised us to go. Then we saw a military vehicle passing and I decided to follow them, they were far ahead of me because you can’t compare my Golf to their Hilux.
Hajiya and her daughter actually heard him when he was telling someone over the phone that ‘they are three in the car’. I didn’t hear that. Because If I did, I wouldn’t have continued with the trip.
“On reaching a village called Tasha Icce, a rocket was fired at the military vehicle. They burnt the car and abducted some of the occupants. Some of the soldiers escaped and abandoned their weapons which the gunmen took away.
“And where that happened was close to a MOPOL checkpoint. I was seeing them when we were being abducted. They brought all of us out. When they saw Hajiya they kept saying ‘she is the one’. They started beating the two.
“One of the bandits asked me to run away, but I refused. Something told me that if I run away, some people will accuse me of being part of the plot. I went close to where Hajiya’s daughter was standing and told her to stop looking at their face.
“We were kidnapped along with others, including some people transporting perishable goods in J5, a man driving a Mercedes Benz, and another person in a truck. They shot him on the leg and abandoned him there when they noticed he was bleeding seriously.”
