If we do not pay, they tell us where to collect the corpse: Displaced persons say they face many challenges trying to get enough money to meet exorbitant ransom demands.<\/p>\n
For the families of displaced people who are abducted, the insurgents\u2019 message is clear: Pay up or they die.<\/p>\n
The result is that families will do just about anything to get the ransom amount.<\/p>\n
Although the conflict in Borno State in Nigeria\u2019s northeast has lessened and there is \u201crelative\u201d peace, attacks still occur \u2013 and abductions are commonplace.<\/p>\n
Ransoms range from a few hundred naira to millions. On top of the cash, insurgents often demand food and mobile phones.<\/p>\n
Raising the cash is a nightmare for families who have to beg or borrow money from relatives and other displaced persons. If there\u2019s enough time, they try to take out loans they can\u2019t afford. Sometimes they sell the few belongings they have. Often, they go from motor park to motor park, hoping for a handout from passersby.<\/p>\n
The insurgents are ruthless. If the ransom is not paid by a certain time on a specified day, they kill their captives, tell their relatives where to find the corpses and move on to the next abduction.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a vicious circle for many displaced persons. Most abductions occur when they are collecting firewood in nearby bushes or forests. They use the wood for cooking or sell it. Often it is their only means of making a living. If they do not go to collect wood, they starve. If they go, they risk attacks by insurgents. Many displaced persons have been abducted more than once.<\/p>\n
Their relatives face immense economic and social challenges to raise the ransom, all the while dealing with the emotional trauma of having a family member abducted.<\/p>\n
They are forced to rely on their limited resources and the generosity of others.<\/p>\n
But the exorbitant ransom demands are often far beyond the reach of poor families.<\/p>\n
Abductions do not take place only in the remote rural districts of Borno State. Residents of internally displaced persons\u2019 camps in Maiduguri, the state capital, told RNI reporter Zainab Alhaji Ali that abductions were a daily occurrence.<\/p>\n
Their dire situation highlights the need for urgent attention and support from relevant authorities and humanitarian organisations.<\/p>\n
They require assistance in raising the ransom, as well as protection from further abductions.<\/p>\n
One family member, who asked to remain anonymous, said: \u201cIf one of us is abducted, we don\u2019t leave the burden of paying the ransom just on his relatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is normal for all of us to donate whatever cash we have but the process of collecting the money can take days or even weeks. The longer the delay, the more at risk the captive is.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily members and friends go from shack to shack. Any amount is gladly accepted; some give as little as \u20a610 because that\u2019s all they can afford.<\/p>\n
\u201cRelatives, well-wishers and friends outside the camp are also contacted to contribute anything they can.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the ransom is \u20a62 million and the accumulated money is short by just \u20a62, the insurgents will not accept it. They want the whole amount.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t argue with them. Sometimes you can negotiate a lesser sum, for example, from \u20a62 million to \u20a61 million. But once the amount is agreed, you will not get the chance to negotiate further.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said if a family could not raise the required amount, they went to motor parks to beg.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe usually hold out an empty carton and ask for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the insurgents give you five days to get the money and on the fifth day you still do not have enough, they kill the abducted person. They contact you and tell you where to collect the corpse. That\u2019s why we don\u2019t ignore their instructions.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust two days ago, two people were killed because their relatives could not raise enough cash. The insurgents demanded \u20a61 million each for four people. Two families were able to raise the ransom, but two others could not. The result: Two people were released and two people died.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family member said displaced people faced abduction \u201con a daily basis\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we go into the bushes, the insurgents will abduct us.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they seem to have inside information. A while back, a relative told insurgents that he did not have any money.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the insurgents asked him if he wasn\u2019t the same man who had sold 17 bags of beans he harvested from his farm. It\u2019s baffling but they always know. It\u2019s as if they have spies among us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another displaced person said: \u201cWe gather the ransom by going from house to house. Some contribute \u20a6500, another will contribute \u20a61,000, others will contribute less than that. It depends on what they have. No one wants anyone else to die. That\u2019s why we all try to contribute something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my brother was abducted four weeks ago, we were given five days to raise the money. They demanded \u20a6500,000. But all we managed to raise was \u20a6300,000. We had no option but to sell his farm produce, which was meant to feed his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow he has been released, but he and his family have nothing to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kime told RNI that her husband was released two months ago after being held for 10 days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe insurgents gave us just three days to raise the ransom. I asked for donations from people in the camp, but I realised they are getting tired of giving their hard-earned cash towards ransoms. Almost every day someone asks for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to get a loan, but no one was willing to lend me money because they knew my situation. I sold my utensils to raise the money, but it still wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three days expired but I didn\u2019t give up. The insurgents kept phoning me and sending me text messages. I went from motor park to motor park. I told my story to every person who passed by. They took pity on me and I finally got the full amount.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to lose my husband. We have seven children. Now he is back home with us and I am extremely grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most displaced persons were not willing to discuss their experiences. They said they feared being attacked or abducted again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AYSHA MUSTAPHA KOLOMI<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If we do not pay, they tell us where to collect the corpse: Displaced persons say they face many challenges trying to get enough money to meet exorbitant ransom demands. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":52748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52747"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52749,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52747\/revisions\/52749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}