Up to 27 traders of Kantin Kwari Textiles Market in Kano have been reportedly kidnapped by gunmen on their way to Aba town in Abia State.
According to Daily Nigerian, the traders were traveling to Aba to supply textile materials when they were abducted by gunmen on Sunday in Okene, Kogi state.
The spokesman of the market, Mansur Haruna, confirmed the incident.
He said not all of the 27 traders that are from Kantinkwari market.
He said among the kidnapped traders, there were others from Kofar Wambai, Sabongari and other markets that joined those from Kantinkwari for the trip.
Mr Haruna disclosed that the leadership of the largest textile market in Nigeria had sought for God’s intervention as it constituted a committee for prayers at mosques and residences for the safe release of the kidnapped traders.
The market’s image maker also called on the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and other concerned authorities to intervene to secure a safe release of the abductees, noting that most of them are small scale entrepreneurs that run their business on not more than N400,000 capital.
“It is sad that most of them are small scale traders as some of them don’t even have more than N400,000 capital.
“Like those ones where do you expect them to be able to raise the demanded ransom?
“When the driver maneuvered to stop the bus, the gunmen came and asked all the occupants of the bus to come out. They kidnapped all the occupants including our colleagues,” said a trader, Lawan Garba.
Garba said there had been communication between the families of the kidnapped traders and the kidnappers, adding that they initially demanded N45 million for a single person.
He further stated that it was now agreed that N27 million should be paid as ransom to secure the release of the 27 kidnapped traders.
“They initially called the family of one of the kidnapped traders and demanded for N45 million. But, now we have gathered that N27 million was agreed to be paid for all of them. That means N1 million for each one of them,” he said.