Bandits threaten to kill abducted Niger ex-SUBEB chairman if family plead with Allah

Hajiya Kulu Niworo, sister of the former Chairman of the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhassan Bawa Niworo, has revealed that bandits threatened to kill her brother if she continued pleading for his release in the name of Allah or Prophet Muhammad.

Niworo was abducted alongside several travellers on September 29, 2025, along the Mokwa–New Bussa Road in Borgu Local Government Area when armed attackers ambushed vehicles between Felegi and Ibi communities.

According to reports, the former SUBEB chairman and other passengers, including a legal practitioner identified as Barrister Ahmad, were travelling to Minna when the gunmen blocked the road and forced them into a nearby forest. Some of the victims were traders returning from the New Bussa weekly market.

Speaking in a video interview shared online, Kulu Niworo said the family sold properties and obtained bank loans to raise the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

“We sold everything, took bank loans and paid ₦30 million, then they demanded an additional ₦150 million,” she said.

She explained that the kidnappers often became angry whenever she pleaded for her brother’s life using religious appeals during phone conversations.

“We had nothing left to eat. Every time they called, we pleaded with them in the name of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), yet they beat him, put a knife to his throat, threatening to kill him if I dared to mention God or the Prophet again,” she said.

Kulu added that despite collecting the ₦30 million ransom, the abductors refused to release her brother, who has remained in captivity for more than six months.

“After collecting the ₦30 million, they refused to release him for more than six months now. Whenever they called and I pleaded in the name of God and the Prophet, he later told me they beat him severely each time I mentioned those names,” she said.

She further revealed that the kidnappers had not contacted the family for about six weeks.

Recounting their last conversation, she said she told the abductors that her brother’s fate ultimately rested with God.

“In our last conversation, I told them if God had destined him to die in their hands, it would happen, but if not, he would survive,” she said.

According to her, the kidnappers responded by threatening to kill him after the family informed them they could not raise the additional ransom.

“They said they would cut his throat since we were tired of him and could not provide the ransom they demanded,” she added.