&w=64&q=75)
A renowned cleric from Sokoto State, Sheikh Bashar Danfili, has narrated the gory details of a kidnapping incident involving six of his relatives, whose driver was killed and his flesh fed to dogs by the bandits.
The Muslim cleric disclosed this in a short video he shared on various social media platforms, wherein he also solicited financial assistance from the Nigerian public to pay the ransom demanded by the bandits.
He said the victims, which include a man, his mother, stepmother, two wives and a sister, were attacked and abducted on their way to an undisclosed village in Sokoto State.
According to him, their driver was killed on the spot and the bandits fed their dogs with his flesh.
Danfili said the bandits had demanded a huge ransom which he's struggling to raise, adding that the deadline was fast approaching.
“The bandits have kidnapped my close relatives. I don’t want to disclose their names.
“They were on their way to a village when they were attacked and kidnapped.
“Their driver was killed on the spot and the bandits fed their dogs with his flesh.
“But the rest are still in captivity, including a husband, his mother, stepmother, two wives and his sister.
“The bandits have demanded a huge amount of money, which runs into millions of Naira. We cannot raise it.
ALSO READ: Matawalle calls on CDS to find, prosecute killers of Sokoto District Head, Bawa
“I am a scholar, I don’t have anything. My job is only to teach people with the books that you can see behind me.
“And they gave us a deadline within which the money must be paid or they would kill all of them.
“I know they can do that, looking at what happened recently to a traditional ruler in the state, who was killed by his abductors.
“Therefore, I am pleading for help from the general public so that we can be able to pay the ransom and get them released,” the Islamic scholar pleaded.
Tinubu orders minister to flush out bandits from Sokoto
Last week, President Bola Tinubu directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and all the nation's service chiefs to relocate to Sokoto to flush out bandits in the state and the entire North-West region.
This followed the gruesome killing of Alhaji Isa Bawa, the District Head of Gatawa in Sokoto by bandits.
The district head was reportedly kidnapped alongside his son while returning from Sokoto and killed by his abductors 26 days later.
Matawalle, accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, and other senior military officials, arrived in the state on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Expressing deep concern over terrorists' and bandits' persistent activities in Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kebbi States, the Minister vowed that the security forces would leave no stone unturned in their fight to eliminate the criminals.
"We are determined to flush out the bandits and ensure the safety of our people," he asserted.