Turkish school kidnap update; Kidnappers fail to release victims after receiving ransom

The kidnappers who stormed Nigerian Turkish International College and made away with 3 pupils and 5 staff have failed to release the victims even after collecting 10 million Naira ransom.

The kidnappers reportedly promised to release their victims on Friday night after their relatives dropped off the ransom at the agreed spot. However, after the ransom was dropped, the kidnappers went back on their promise, accusing the relatives of getting security operatives involved.



It was gathered that on Friday night, relatives of those kidnapped were directed by the kidnappers to go to Ogun State, some others were directed to Ondo state and there were those asked to go to Agboju in Lagos state to reunite with their loved ones and were warned not to receive phone calls while at the venue. After the unsuccessful attempt at recovery on Friday, the kidnappers promised to release their victims on Saturday night, however, they failed on their promise again.

One of the relatives who asked not to be named said that her family paid N5 million to the kidnappers.

“What else do they want us to do? We paid N5 million and yet they have refused to release my little girl. This is the ninth day and the longest of all such incidents in schools ever witnessed. Is this a repeat of Chibok girls abduction?" The woman said.

“The most annoying part is that the Ogun State government seems to be adamant over this. Apart from the day the Deputy Governor visited the school and assured us that they would be released, nothing has been heard from the government. One would have expected that such kidnap in a foreign school should be given the needed attention, so as to redeem our image internationally, but no! They have left us to our fate because it is not their children that are involved." She continued.

“The police keep assuring us that they would release them. How long do they want us to wait, for eternity?”

Distraught relatives of the victim have pleaded with police to not get involved so as not to anger the kidnappers because all they wanted was to have their loved ones back.

The spokesman for Ogun command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), in a statement revealed that security forces were closing in on the kidnappers.

“We are very optimistic. We believe that we would rescue the girls soon. It is not true that we have not been talking with the parents. How can we abandon them? It will be unfair for any parent to say so because it is far from the truth. The only thing is that we can not reveal the strategy we are taking because that may jeopardise our efforts,” He said.