They told us to bring the money to a place, which was far from where they kidnapped us. They also warned us not to bring policemen, threatening they would kill my sons if they sighted any policeman with the person bringing the ransom. The person who took the ransom to them went on a motorcycle; they took the money and told us to go and meet my sons somewhere else.
Did you know that they would kill one of your sons?
I didn’t know that they would kill him since we had paid them the ransom. Although, they were threatening that they would kill them if the N10m they demanded was not paid in full, we were begging them to reduce the amount, which they refused.
What happened after the payment of the ransom?
They called me to go and meet my son in a place very far away from the place where we live. They also told me that they had killed one of them since I refused to pay N10m. I didn’t believe that they had killed my son until I saw his corpse. My son was shot in the stomach. They shot him from the side and the bullet entered from one side and came out on the other side.
What was your reaction when you saw your son’s corpse?
I was sad. The act was callous and wicked, particularly because I already paid them N3m to save the lives of my sons. I know that everything is in the hands of God. There is nothing I can do but I know that Allah who is the ultimate judge will take revenge. The N3m ransom I gave to them was borrowed from friends and relatives, but they still killed my son.
Did you report the case to the police?
Yes, we reported the incident at the police station.
What do you want the government to do for you?
I want people to know that we, Fulani herdsmen, are also victims of kidnap. We have been living with the Yoruba for a very long time and we live with them peacefully. Now, some youths have been destroying our properties, killing all our animals, destroying our farms and stealing our money unde the pretence that Fulani men are kidnapping their men. This is not true. Those that kidnapped me and my sons did not speak a single word of Fulani language. They were speaking Hausa and Yoruba language fluently. Since this thing happened and people burnt down our houses and killed our cows, we have not seen any government officials come to visit us. I want the Federal Government to probe all these injustices being perpetrated against Fulani herdsmen and bring those behind them to book. The government should also design ways of compensating those whose properties were destroyed and they should find solutions to the security problems in the country. As I am speaking with you now, some of our people are in detention at the police station in Ilorin, while some are in hiding, running for their lives and could not go about their normal businesses.
