Thread by @A_Salkida

RESIDENTS OF JOS ARE THROWN INTO A STATE OF INTENSE FEAR BY THE ACTIVITIES OF KIDNAPPERS. Insecurity is turning a gory, brazen, page with new incidents of kid kidnappings making the rounds in Jos, Plateau State.

Thread.

Unlike Zamfara state where the abductions occur mostly in the rural communities, these incidents in Jos are right under the noses of the elite formations of the Armed Forces - Army, Air Force, Navy, Secret Service, Police and paramilitary arms in the metropolis.

It is estimated that about 90% of the targeted victims are children, ages ranging from 2 to 10. It is feared that there might be a collusion btwn the kidnappers & the horde of security formations, jobless youths & vigilantes to keep the hapless population under constant distress.

Frequently, prowling gunmen would target a family, arrive in the dead of night, break doors, take money, whatever else pleased them and compound their victims' woes by abducting a child in the house to force the parents to bring out a lump sum of money as ransom.

There is a reported incident of a 4yr old, Who was abducted in his sleep. Mostly, it is the middle income families that are targeted. A staff of a private firm with his wife and three kids were traumatized in the dead of night when 4 gunmen forced their way into their bedrooms.

With barely 15, 000 Naira cash in the house, their 5 year old was instantly abducted, awaiting ransom. The distraught family ran to the Police in desperation, but the officers advised them to act wisely by heeding the instructions of the gunmen/kidnappers.

The family finally raised 500, 000 Naira ransom for release of their child. Another family, invaded by the gunmen at 2am experienced thesame trauma but with different details. Insisting that it was better for her to be abducted rather than her children the woman submitted herself

... and walked for eight hours with the gunmen into the bush. When the husband finally laid hold of the ransom about 12 hours later, he was instructed by the kidnappers on where to drop off the cash and where to pick up his wife.

To give room for assumed official investigation by the Police, this reporter is deliberately withholding the names of the victims. From testimonies of some of the victims in Jos, there's ground to suspect that the gunmen are likely people already familiar with the victims.

A victim reported the experience of his head being kept down to forestall any eye contact but nevertheless found a voice familiar. Many of the victims are too afraid to speak out. There's been over 40 cases of this epidemic documented by this reporter btwn January & March 2019.

On the average, there are between three and four abduction cases in Jos each week. But many sources insist that the cases are understated believing that there are more cases of child abductions right in front of their parents in Jos than are admitted.

The kids were usually seized in the absence of cash in the house. And the choice is usually death or abduction, the family chooses to let go of a child while they scrambled to raise money for ransom payments days later. The police have not been able to help the victims, so far.

It is believed that many middle income families are taking steps to avert the attendant trauma by keeping at least 100, 000 Naira at home. A troubled family lamented, "we cannot hide our children in the house. The gunmen seem to have information about us. We are helpless."