In a significant development, there is mounting pressure on the kidnappers responsible for the abduction of five pupils and four staff members from the Apostolic Faith Church Primary and Secondary School in Emure, Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
The ransom demand from the abductors has been reduced from N100 million to N15 million.
Recall that on Monday, the kidnappers ambushed a bus transporting their victims to Eporo, a suburb of Emure, and subsequently abducted them.
Following intense negotiations, the kidnappers, who initially demanded N100 million for the release of their captives, have now reduced the ransom to N15 million.
A relative of one of the victims revealed that despite efforts to persuade the kidnappers to accept N4 million, they insisted on the higher amount.
He said: “What we need now is money to secure the release of our children and wives because I just had a conversation with the kidnappers. They have called four to five times to say the ransom is now N15 million.
“We are currently begging them to take N4 million, but they insisted they want N15 million, and that we should hasten up with the payment because the children are already weak. They even threatened to kill them if the ransom is not paid on time.”
The source mentioned that the families have raised N3 million thus far.
He appealed to the state and federal governments, as well as public-spirited individuals to urgently come to their aid.