KIDNAPPERS of a former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), retired General Maharazu Tsiga, have demanded a N250 million ransom for his release.
A source close to the family who doesn’t want his name to be mentioned, told our correspondent on Saturday that the family of the victim was contacted last night by the kidnapper’s ringleader and requested the said amount.
This newspaper reports that Tsiga was kidnapped alongside several other residents of Tsiga village in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.
A resident of the area confirmed the incident to this newspaper in a telephone call on Thursday.
He said the abduction occurred on Wednesday after the hoodlums armed with sophisticated weapons invaded the residence of the former NYSC Director General.
Sources said that during the attack which lasted for a few minutes, two residents were wounded and one of the hoodlums died after being mistakenly shot by his colleagues.
Meanwhile, the Katsina State Police Command on Friday confirmed the abduction of retired General Tsiga, stating that it is on top of the situation and is in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders and other security agencies in the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Abubakar Sadiq, disclosed this during a press briefing held at the Command Headquarters to review crime fighting achievements recorded in the previous month of January 2025.
He announced that a total of 45 suspects have been arrested in connection with various crimes within the period.
Abubakar recalled that, on February 6,2025 at about 0530 hours, information was received at the Bakori divisional police headquarters of the suspected activities of some suspected armed bandits where they attacked Tsiga Village and immediately, operatives responded to the scene to rescue the situation.
“Unfortunately, before the arrival of the operatives, the hoodlums already succeeded in their mission”, he added.
Katsina is one of several states in the North-Western and North-Central that is terrorised by bandits who raid villages, kill and abduct residents as well as burn and loot homes.
The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have earned notoriety for mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years.
In 2023, Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umar Radda, established Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC) comprising around 2,000 vigilantes to assist the military and police in fighting the gangs.