The families of two women abducted by suspected kidnappers in Nasarawa State are in anguish as the captors demand a ransom of N50 million for their release.
The women, seized on Sunday night, are said to be enduring severe hardship in captivity.
According to relatives, the victims have been forced to trek long distances in the forest while subjected to harsh treatment from their abductors.
One of the victims is the wife of a pastor, who was taken alongside a female church member.
She is a nursing mother separated from her three-month-old baby and reportedly struggling with her health.
“She is emotionally broken and physically exhausted.
“Being away from her newborn has deepened her trauma, and the condition in which they are being kept is unbearable,” a family member told reporters in Lafia.
The distressed woman was overheard crying during a brief phone call, lamenting: “My baby… my baby. Who will help me out of this pain? Somebody please rescue me from this forest.”
Her husband and other relatives are devastated by the ransom demand, describing the amount as outrageous and beyond their capacity to raise.
Community members and sympathisers have called on security agencies to act swiftly.
“We cannot afford to lose another innocent life. The government and security operatives must step in immediately,” a concerned resident said.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident that same night, Dr. Muhammed Egye Osolafia, the Special Assistant to Governor Abdullahi Sule on Humanitarian Services, who was also abducted, has regained his freedom.
The kidnappings have heightened fear across Nasarawa communities, with residents urging authorities to intensify security operations and dismantle the growing networks of bandits and kidnappers in the state.