[VIDEO] Soldiers directed our team to bandits during N175m ransom delivery, Says Baba-Ahmed

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has recounted the harrowing ordeal his family endured after his nephew was abducted by bandits in Kaduna State in 2025, revealing that they paid a total of N175 million in ransom despite leveraging high-level government contacts in attempt to secure his release.

Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, disclosed this during an interview with Trust TV, a clip of which has since gone viral on social media.

He said the incident occurred last year when his nephew, who is the son of his late sister, was kidnapped alongside other people while on a farm near Kachia in Kaduna State.

According to him, the victims had engaged police escorts before travelling to the location but were nevertheless attacked and taken away by armed bandits.

“Last year, my nephew was kidnapped. My late sister’s son, along with some other people. They went to a farm and had hired police to accompany them there, but they were kidnapped just a few miles outside Kaduna, on the road to Kachia,” he said.

“They were staying at a location, perhaps a hotel or something similar, when bandits arrived in the night. One of the victims attempted to escape. They pursued him, shot him and dragged his body back so the others could see what would happen if they tried to run away.”

Baba-Ahmed said the abductees were moved only a short distance into the bush, where they remained in captivity for 36 days.

He noted that despite serving at the Presidential Villa at the time and having access to top government officials and security agencies, efforts to secure the victims’ release through official channels yielded little result.

“At the time, I was Special Adviser to the President. I was working in the Villa. There was hardly anyone in government I could not speak to. We obtained the coordinates of their location, which was not difficult to do, and we handed them over to the relevant authorities,” he said.

“For 36 days, we spoke with the bandits every single day. We also spoke with our nephew and two of the other victims. Every day they would tell us their conditions and we would negotiate. The bandits would speak to us and then hand over the phone to the victims. We insisted on speaking to our nephew because we wanted proof that he was alive.”

According to Baba-Ahmed, the kidnappers appeared to have detailed information about the family and specifically targeted his nephew because of his connections.

“The very night they abducted him, they told him, ‘Your uncle is a very important person. He works in the Villa, so we are going to get a lot of money from this.’ They also contacted my brother, Datti Baba-Ahmed,” he said.

The PRP chairman explained that the kidnappers initially demanded N25 million, three motorcycles and a large quantity of medicines and other supplies.

“The first demand was N25 million. We said okay and started looking for the money. They also requested three motorcycles and a substantial quantity of drugs and medical supplies. They instructed us where to take the items, and we delivered them,” he said.

Despite repeatedly sharing intelligence, including the coordinates of the kidnappers’ location, with security agencies, Baba-Ahmed said there was no successful intervention throughout the period of captivity.

“I knew virtually everyone in government. I could walk into any office and say, ‘Please, this is my nephew.’ They would ask for the coordinates, and I provided them. Yet five, six, seven days would pass and nothing would happen,” he said.

He disclosed that by the time the victims were eventually released, the family had spent about N175 million.

“Between the day they were kidnapped and the day they were released, we spent N175 million. About N120 million of that amount was cash delivered in three separate batches,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed made a startling claim that during one of the ransom deliveries, military personnel allegedly helped couriers locate the kidnappers after they got lost.

“We sent people to deliver the money because the bandits would provide directions. On one of the three occasions, the couriers lost their way and encountered a military checkpoint. They told the soldiers they were going to deliver ransom money but had missed the route. The military personnel then directed them to the correct location.

“The military told them they were heading in the wrong direction and showed them the right way to go and deliver the money. I am sorry to say this, but there appears to be a system behind all this,” he stated.

Baba-Ahmed also recounted what his nephew told the family after his release regarding the structure of the criminal network operating the kidnapping camps.

“The most disturbing part came after our nephew was released. We asked him what the kidnappers were doing with all the money we had sent. He told us that whenever money arrived at the camp, usually by about 6 p.m., senior figures in the organisation would arrive by around 9 p.m. and take almost everything away.

“They would leave behind only a small amount of cash, some drugs and a few supplies for those guarding the captives. The bandits would tell them that they had bosses who controlled the operation.”

Watch video here