Hajiya Kulu Niworo, sister of former Chairman of the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Alhassan Bawa Niworo, has revealed the disturbing ordeal her family has faced since her brother was abducted by bandits.
Alhaji Niworo was kidnapped along the Mokwa–New Bussa Road in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State. According to reports, he was travelling with other passengers around 4 p.m. on September 29, 2025, when armed attackers blocked the road between Felegi and Ibi communities and forced the travellers into a nearby forest.
Sources said the former education board chairman was travelling to Minna with several others, including a legal practitioner identified as Barrister Ahmad. Some of the abducted victims were traders returning from the New Bussa weekly market when the attack occurred.
Speaking in a video about the incident, Hajiya Kulu Niworo explained that the family had to sell property and take bank loans in a desperate attempt to raise the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
According to her, the family initially paid ₦30 million to secure his release, but the abductors later demanded an additional ₦150 million.
“We sold everything we had and even took bank loans to raise ₦30 million, but after collecting the money, they demanded another ₦150 million,” she said.
She also described the emotional distress the family endured during phone conversations with the kidnappers. She said the abductors often reacted violently whenever she pleaded for mercy in the name of God or the Prophet Muhammad.
“Each time they called, we begged them in the name of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad, but they would beat him and even put a knife to his throat, warning that they would kill him if I mentioned God or the Prophet again,” she said.
Despite the payment already made, the kidnappers have continued to hold her brother captive for more than six months.
She added that whenever she spoke with him on the phone, he revealed that the bandits punished him severely whenever she made religious pleas during their conversations.
“After taking the ₦30 million, they still refused to release him. Whenever I mentioned God or the Prophet while speaking to them, he said they would beat him severely,” she said.
According to her, the kidnappers have not contacted the family for about six weeks.
During their last conversation, she said she told the abductors that her brother’s fate ultimately rests in God’s hands.
“I told them that if God has destined him to die in their hands, it will happen, but if not, he will survive,” she recalled.
She said the kidnappers responded by threatening to kill him, claiming the family could not meet their latest ransom demand.
“They told me they would cut his throat since we could no longer provide the money they asked for,” she said.
