…warn family to pay up or forget about getting the girls back
For a long time, twin sisters, Hassana Bala and Husaina Bala, had been dreaming about the day they would get wedded to their heartthrobs, imagining how the ceremony would look like, the razzmatazz of the ceremony, the class of guests that would attend the event and the revelry that would envelop the atmosphere on that special day.
But this reverie by the identical twin sisters was suddenly broken and cut short by their unexpected abduction by some unknown gunmen, who stormed their village on a motorcycle in a commando style, went straight for the two girls and made away with them like some trophies taken from defeated enemies after a battle.
The twin sisters had barely arrived in the town when the men brandishing all sorts of sophisticated and assorted weapons, stormed the area in a convoy of several motor bikes and as if they had been given prior information by someone of the arrival of the beautiful girls, went straight to the bedroom from where they forcibly whisked them away to an unknown destination
Hassana and Husaina, who are indigenes of Dauran town in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, but residing in Gusau town, following the death of their parents, had gone on a visit to their hometown (Dauran) in order to meet with their family members to further discuss the preparations for their fast approaching marriage ceremony.
The twin sisters had barely arrived in the town when the men brandishing all sorts of sophisticated and assorted weapons, stormed the area in a convoy of several motor bikes and as if they had been given prior information by someone of the arrival of the beautiful girls, went straight to the bedroom from where they forcibly whisked them away to an unknown destination. And ever since that day, no member of their family had set their eyes on the girls or even have an inkling of their whereabouts.
Narrating the family’s ordeal, the guardian of the twin sisters, Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf Dauran, told our correspondent that the twins were kidnapped by the unknown gunmen when they went on a visit to their elder sister in her matrimonial home in Dauran town to discuss some aspects of the preparations for their forthcoming wedding.
Abubakar added that when the gunmen got to the house, they forcibly entered the room by first removing the door completely from its hinges to enable them to have easy access to the girls, who they promptly abducted and took away to an unknown destination.
He said that he had since then resorted to prayers for divine intervention and prompt response from the security agencies in the state for the rescue of the twins.
Abubakar added that the trauma of the girls’ abduction was adversely still affecting him and the entire family.
Efforts made by the relatives of the abducted twins to negotiate with the kidnappers have so far not yielded any result. As of the time of filing this report, the girls’ kidnappers, who spoke with their family members on the phone, insisted on collecting N100million ransom before setting the twins free.
The leader of the abductors, whose voice was recorded during the negotiation on the phone, warned sternly, “If you want your beautiful girls back, you must pay N100 million, otherwise, forget them!”
When the family members of the abducted girls offered their abductors the sum of N1million with the explanations that the girls were orphans, the kidnappers immediately cut off the call and could not be reached until three days after.
Another offer of N5million was again made by a group of people interested in saving the twin sisters, but it was spurned by their kidnappers, who again insisted that the N100 million ransom must be paid and now even threatened to either keep the girls in their custody permanently or sell them off to some interested buyers.
One of the family members, Malam Sani Ustaz, who spoke with our correspondent, explained that the two parents of the abducted twin sisters had died long ago, adding, “Their father, Malam Bala Dauran, was a civil servant, who died many years ago and was not paid his entitlement by the government.”
He further explained that members of the family and other well-wishers contacted contributed the amount of ransom being offered the girls’ abductors for their release.
Ustaz, however, said with a strong of note of regret in his voice that “if the kidnappers insist on their demand for N100million ransom, we will have no other alternative than to forget about the girls.”
The kidnapping of the twin sisters has thrown the people of the town in total fear, creating panic and confusion as nobody knows who the next victim of these unknown gunmen could be.
Many residents of the town, however, expressed anger that “despite the heavy attacks on the bandits by the security agencies, particularly the military, who are currently carrying out onslaughts against them, kidnappers and cattle rustlers are still carrying out their murderous activities in the state.”
Some residents of the town, who spoke with our correspondent, described the abduction of the twin sisters as a bad omen for the state, particularly now that politicians are busy trying to get people to elect them into office in the forthcoming general elections.
The vice chairman of Zurmi Local Government Area, Alhaji Abubakar Dauran, said the state was in a difficult situation, stressing that something urgent must to be done to end this ugly trend.
According to him, “Zamfara is not safe as kidnappers and armed bandits are having a field day,” adding that in recent times people were kidnapped in five communities in the local government.
Another resident, Alhaji Ahmad, suggested that proactive measures should be taken by the government to restore peace to the state.
“The people now sleep with one eye closed due to the dastardly act of the gunmen terrorising the state,” he said.
The state Police Command on its part assured that it would do everything humanly possible to rescue the abducted girls.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Shehu Mohammed, said the command had since swung into action, calling on the people of the state to give the police maximum support and cooperation to achieve the desired success.
Meanwhile, residents have been trooping to the family home of the abducted twin sisters to sympathise with their relations on this sad development.
The people of the area have also embarked on offering prayers for the safe return of the two beautiful twin sisters.
Zamfara state is one of the states ravaged by the activities of bandits ranging from cattle rustling, armed robbery and kidnapping. Already, hundreds of people have either been kidnapped or killed in the state in the past one year, while thousands of cattle and other domestic animals had also been rustled within the same period.
