Mansur Al-Kadriyar, the father of the six abducted sisters in the Bwari area of the Federal Capital Territory, revealed the terrifying ordeal his family endured at the hands of ruthless bandits.
In an interview with Arise TV on Monday, Al-Kadriyar recounted the traumatic events that unfolded on the night of January 2 when the gunmen forcefully entered their residence in Zuma 1, Bwari area of Abuja.
“It was on January 2. I think I came in around 7 pm from town… I kept telling my wife I was not feeling too strong. I dozed off after some time, and the next thing I heard was some noise,” Al-Kadriyar explained.
The armed men, later identified as robbers, broke into their newly occupied, uncompleted house. Al-Kadriyar, trying to ensure the safety of his family, recounted the harrowing moments: “I came out, went to the sitting room, and peeped from the window. I saw a man standing outside; it was then I realized they were armed robbers.”
During the incident, Al-Kadriyar managed to alert his brother, Abdulfatai, who led the police to the scene. Tragically, his brother’s involvement led to an exchange of gunfire, resulting in casualties.
“They immediately told us to lay down, and I told my children to obey and lay down. Three of the armed men went to a building nearby… and started firing at the police officers,” he added.
Al-Kadriyar further explained how the gunmen forced them to march through the bush for hours, demanding money. The father of six described moments of physical abuse, including slaps and gun hits, as the bandits sought to extort a ransom.
“I told him, ‘Aboki, what do you want? Don’t treat me like this.’ He was trying to speak Yoruba, he said, ‘Money, you have money?’” Al-Kadriyar recalled.
Despite the family’s distressing situation, Al-Kadriyar’s resilience and attempts to negotiate proved challenging. The bandits escalated their demands from N2 million to as high as N10 million.
“My children started saying, ‘Daddy, please don’t allow them to kill us.’ They (bandits) started talking about N5 million to N10 million,” he explained.
