THE LATEST KADUNA CRISIS : THE KILLING OF CHIEF ADARA , A KIDNAP GONE WRONG NOT ETHNIC/RELIGIOUS KILLING
With lives and properties at stake , and based on credible information at my disposal I find it necessary to explain the immediate cause of the new wave of violence that engulfed Kaduna today. Being Kaduna state , already some narratives are reporting the killing of the Adara Chief as a religious/ethnic conflict. It is not. The Chief died as a result of a kidnap (he was kidnapped along with 5 others) that went horribly wrong.
Without mentioning names, I had the unpleasant experience of being indirectly involved in the ransom negotiations for the release of the 2 of the kidnap victims (not on the side of the Chief) when a relative of some of the kidnap victims was contacted by the kidnappers and he in turn contacted me to compare notes.

The kidnap happened on Friday 19 October at around 4.46 pm along the single lane Kaduna -Kachia road. The kidnappers about 9 in number, first stopped a vehicle coming from Kachia going to Kaduna carrying a man , his wife and their driver all Muslims and this group was the group whose relative contacted me. They were first dispossessed of their belongings and the victims at that time thought this was a mere robbery. Then came the Chief of Adara’s jeep from the Kaduna direction which was equally stopped with his Orderly and local Dogari killed on the spot leaving the chief , his wife and driver . Another man from a different vehicle was also taken After dispossessing the kidnappers told the now 7 victims from the 3 vehicles (Chief + Wife + 2 aides, Man +Wife, and a lone Man) to follow them into the bush on foot . All the 7 victims were kept in one location.

On Saturday late night , probably due to the condition of the Chief’s wife, the kidnappers released her and allowed the driver of the other vehicle to lead her out of the bush and they reached civilization on Sunday morning. While in captivity, at a place not far from the town (according to one victim) , of the reaming 5 kidnap victims, the lone man kidnapped attempted an escape and had almost succeeded when the kidnappers captured and killed him. The kidnappers now had 4 victims remaining the Chief and his driver on one side, and the other man and his wife on the other. Eventually, the kidnappers made contact with the relative of the first group (not the Chief’s group) and demanded a ransom of N50 million for the release of the man and his wife. I would assume that similar or same demand was made to the Chief’s relatives but I am not privy to this. Negotiations were on back and forth for a reduction and according to the victim each time that a deal failed to be struck the kidnappers come back and beat them mercilessly. Finally the kidnappers agreed to accept N1.5 million for the release of the man and his wife. The relative who called me , was later called by the kidnappers at 12 00 on Thursday 25 October and instructed to come to Jere with the ransom. I advised him to demand speaking with his relative as Proof of Life as it would not make sense to pay ransom when the victim might have already been killed. The kidnappers obliged and allowed him to speak with his brother. Arriving Jere, he received another call telling him to move to Katari.

At Katari, near a certain petrol station, off the road leading to Gurara dam , he took an unused road towards a certain rail/road junction. He was then instructed to leave his car and walk about 1-2 km with the money along a river bank as he passed some children playing. Just as he was wondering there was nobody to meet, 2 of the kidnappers in their 20s, with Fulani features appeared with AK-47s with their faces partially covered. They asked, in Hausa, if he had the money to which he responded in the affirmative and proceeded to bring out and show them the money from his bag. They then asked “Are you sure the money is complete?” and he answered that he believed so but cannot be certain as took the money straight from the bank. “Why don’t we count just to be sure” he offered, but they said NO……”If it is not complete you will hear from us they said menacingly. This intermediary , a security expert himself , had wisely carried an extra N20, 000 just in case the money from the bank was not complete as from experience any shortage from the stated amount could lead to the kidnap victim being killed or injured. Now as this intermediary was leaving the place he made the ransom payment, he saw a black Peugeot 307 with a well dressed man in Caftan heading towards the drop zone and he surmised that this neatly dressed man was also going to make payment. It turned out that the man was a senior aide of the Chief of Adara and he too was going to keep rendezvous with the kidnappers.

After collecting the money they told the intermediary to head to Diko junction near Abuja as according to them , the victims are kept and would be released from Minna. He arrived Diko around 4 pm and waited for the call till 1 am in the morning. As it turned out , sending him to Diko was a ruse as the 2 victims he was representing had already been released at around 7pm somewhere near Katari. Now as earlier stated all the 4 victims including the chief were kept in one location and according to the victim that was rescued to pass time, he and the Chief engaged in discussions with the Chief telling them to please visit his place when next they were passing by. Now according to the rescued victim, when the time for their release came, the kidnappers instructed that the man and his wife leave by one direction while the chief and his driver leaves by another direction. That, was the last he saw the chief and he was actually surprised to hear that the Chief’s body has been found.
The Chief of Adara is dead and it may not be important how or why he was killed . But I am relating story , just to disabuse the minds of those saying that the killing of Chief Adara has religious or ethnic undertones. Rather it was a kidnap that went wrong and we do not know what made the kidnappers to kill him after collecting ransom and ostensibly releasing him and the other captives. Just so that you know.
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This narrative is ruse

This narrative is a ruse