A hostage negotiator has told the BBC that paying ransoms may be illegal, yet it is the only way families can guarantee the release of relatives kidnapped by the gangs terrorising swathes of northern Nigeria.
Sulaiman, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is from Kaduna State, where 280 children were recently abducted from a school in the town of Kuriga.
He has been working informally in this controversial and risky role for several years – since some of his relatives were taken hostage.
“We have to negotiate. You cannot use force to get hostages back. It would put the lives of our loved ones in danger,” he told the BBC.
Sulaiman first became involved in negotiations with kidnappers, referred to locally as bandits, in 2021 – a year before the payment of ransoms became illegal in Nigeria.
Over the last three years he said he has negotiated the release of more than 200 hostages – a small fraction of the thousands of people abducted over the last decade.
The negotiations take patience – and courage.
“The government believes I have been helping the bandits.
“The bandits think I have been getting money from the government, so I am also a kidnap target,” he said, speaking from an undisclosed location
His first negotiation took place as he was trying to raise a ransom of around $12,500 (£9,800) for two of his relatives who had been abducted.
“I did not know what I was doing. I was just speaking with the bandits – and begging them,” he said.
However his patient approach with the gang members worked and in the end his relatives were freed – though he had to sell his farm in his home village to cover the ransom.
When word spread about the successful release, other families who were victims of kidnapping came to him for support. Soon his phone was constantly busy.
“Almost everyone in my village has had a family member kidnapped,” he said, adding that he helps them out free of charge.
And despite the outlawing of ransom payments, people still come to him – desperate for help.
Sulaiman admitted that it is a scary position for him to be in, saying, “The government does not like negotiation with the bandits, and can send people to jail for doing that.”
He puts his success down to his appreciation of the root causes of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis, which he said is fuelled mainly by poverty and high levels of youth unemployment.
Competition for land and resources between cattle herders and farmers has also contributed to the problem. The kidnappers tend to be former herders from the Fulani ethnic group, who target villages where mainly Hausa farmers reside.
“When I speak to the bandits, I understand those people,” he said, adding that the negotiations tend to take place in Hausa, the lingua franca of the mainly Muslim north – though most kidnappers’ mother tongue is Fulfulde, spoken by the Fulani people.
“I tell them that I know that they are living a difficult life in the bush, without electricity. I know that they feel they have been forgotten by the government.”
“The bandits think I have been getting money from the government, so I am also a kidnap target,” he said, speaking from an undisclosed location”
Growing up in rural Nigeria has given the ransom negotiator an understanding of the issues fuelling the kidnapping
The gangs are often made up of gunmen on motorbikes who target areas and particular families on the word of paid informants. It is a huge, sophisticated money-making operation.
Around 30,000 bandits in more than 100 gangs operate in north-western Nigeria, according to the Centre for Democracy and Development – a think-tank based in the capital, Abuja.
Sulaiman said the success of his negotiations depends on the leader of the kidnappers.
“Some bandits I have dealt with still keep hostages and want more money, even after you have paid the ransom.
“But some of them release the hostages as soon as you pay,” he added.
The process can be arduous, taking up to 50 days to release a hostage and anywhere between 20 and 30 phone calls.
“You have to use soft language. They can be rude and they will insult you but you have to remain calm,” he said.
Despite a shortage of bank notes in Nigeria, the kidnappers demand that ransoms are paid in cash as bank transfers can be easily traced.
Payments are usually delivered by a parent or a relative of one of the abductees, Sulaiman explained.
“The bandit will call them and give them step-by-step directions on how to find them in the bush. Once they reach there, the bandit will count the money, note by note,” he said.
Sulaiman feels dialogue would work better than a heavy-handed approach to solve the crisis
Sometimes the bandits request motorcycles as part of the ransom payment, as well as alcohol and cigarettes.
When another close contact of Sulaiman’s was kidnapped from a university along with other students – before ransom payments became illegal – he said the government paid around $2,370 for each student’s freedom – though there has never been any official confirmation of this.
“The government will never admit on the record they paid (even then) because for them that would be admitting failure. But as insiders we know what happened and we didn’t have that kind of money,” he said.
Sulaiman became involved in those negotiations and said the kidnappers had first demanded around $32,000 for each hostage and were eventually bargained down.
These days with villagers left to foot the bill, few people can afford to raise the cash for ransoms. They often turn to crowd-funding for the money, though this is now also proving difficult given how the insecurity has devastated the economy.
Bandits have been known to either kill hostages or release them when there is no hope of payment.
Sulaiman thinks the spate of recent mass abductions from schools, and the threat to kill the students, may be a ploy to get the authorities to take notice, adding “They think the government will pay.”
There are reports that the authorities have continued to pay ransoms on occasion – though this is always denied.
And President Bola Tinubu has been at pains to say “not a dime” will be paid for the recently abducted children of Kuriga, directing the security forces to ensure their release.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, armed gangs demanded more than $6m in ransom payments, according to a report by SBM Intelligence, a security risk consulting firm.
The ransom negotiator agreed with the authorities that continuing to pay up will just fuel the kidnapping business, saying “Ransom payments do encourage kidnapping. The bandits are just looking for money.”
But he is certain that the heavy-handed approach of military force is not the answer.
“If I can advise the government, they should meet these people and have dialogue with them,” he suggested.
Until then, Sulaiman fears the next time his phone rings, it will be another abduction case.
Determined to keep helping his community, he is sure to answer the call.
Nearly 300 school children kidnapped in Nigeria earlier this month have been released, the governor of the country’s Kaduna State said in a post on X on Sunday.
“The abducted Kuriga School children are released unharmed,” Uba Sani said, without providing further details. Sani also thanked Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who “worked round the clock with us to ensure the safe return of the children.”
On March 7, more than 300 students were abducted by armed bandits on motorcycles who stormed the LEA Primary and Secondary School in Kuriga village, in Kaduna’s Chikun district, the state’s police spokesman Mansur Hassan said at the time.
Some students were rescued but 287 of them had remained with the kidnappers – around 100 were from primary school and the rest from secondary school.
The gunmen had last week demanded a ransom of N1 billion ($620,000) and threatened to kill all of the students if their demands were not met, a member of the local community said.
Sani added on Sunday that the country’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu had coordinated the “operations of the security agencies, which eventually resulted in this successful outcome.”
“The Nigerian Army also deserves special commendation for showing that with courage, determination and commitment, criminal elements can be degraded and security restored in our communities,” Sani said.
Kaduna state, which borders the Nigerian capital Abuja to the South West, has grappled with recurring incidents of kidnappings for ransom by bandits and has witnessed several mass abductions in recent years.
Gunmen in Nigeria killed at least 21 people in North West Niger State in an attack at a busy market, local residents and a local traditional leader said on Friday, the latest incidence of violence by armed gangs.
The attack followed the mass kidnapping this month of schoolchildren and several abductions in Kaduna.
Alhaji Isah Bawale, a traditional leader in Niger State’s Madaka rural community said gunmen entered the market on Thursday and randomly opened fire, killing several people.
“They didn’t spare anyone, they killed and abducted people,” said Bawale, adding that officials were gathering information on the dead and missing.
But three other residents said that at least 21 people were killed.
“As I speak to you, about 21 persons have been confirmed killed,” said Abdulganiyu Aliyu, who witnessed the incident.
“They (gunmen) did not stop there, they proceeded to set shops and vehicles on fire, and the clinic within the market area,” Aliyu said by phone.
Another resident, market trader Hussaini Hasan confirmed that 21 people had been killed and that a number of women and children had been kidnapped.
Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Bello Abdullahi Mohammed confirmed the attack but did not provide details.
Kidnappings by criminal gangs with no ideological affiliation and demanding ransoms have become an almost daily occurrence, especially in northern Nigeria, tearing apart families and communities who have to pool savings to pay ransoms, often forcing them to sell land, cattle and grain to secure their loved ones’ release.
(BBC/Reuters/CNN)
