Suspected Boko Haram terrorists holding 13 kidnapped travellers captive for the past 15 weeks have demanded that the Nigerian government negotiate with them and pay a ransom before releasing the victims, who include a woman and her seven-month-old baby.
The development comes more than three months after the travellers were abducted along the volatile Biu-Damaturu highway in Borno State, with their families repeatedly accusing both the Federal Government and the Borno State Government of abandoning them.
A family source told SaharaReporters on Thursday that one of the captives was recently allowed to speak with his brother by phone, during which the terrorists conveyed their demand for government intervention. “They gave one of the victims a phone and he reached out to his brother here in Abuja,” the source said. “So, they are demanding that the government should come and pay a ransom and release them.” According to the source, the hostage confirmed identifying details, including the date of the abduction, to reassure his family that he was indeed speaking from captivity.
The 13 travellers were kidnapped on April 15, 2026, and their families fear their conditions may have worsened after more than three months in captivity. One of the abducted women is also believed to have given birth while held, heightening concerns over the health and safety of both mother and newborn.
The victims were seized near the Kamuya axis along the Biu-Damaturu highway when armed insurgents riding motorcycles intercepted two commercial vehicles. While drivers and some elderly or visibly ill passengers were released, the terrorists reportedly forced 13 others, including women and a sick infant, into the Sambisa Forest corridor.
One of the victims, according to her husband, Musa Abdullahi, was returning from an Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) verification exercise after securing employment in Hawul Local Government Area. Abdullahi recalled how his wife pleaded with the gunmen to spare her, explaining that their seven-month-old baby had only recently been discharged from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. “Even my wife cried and begged them that her baby was not fine,” he said, adding that the terrorists tore up her credentials in front of her before forcing her into the bush.
Families of the victims have also alleged that the terrorists deliberately targeted Christians during the abduction. Abdullahi said that of the 13 people taken, only two or three were Muslim, with the rest Christian, including husbands and wives abducted together. Another relative, Hassan Yati, whose brother and sister-in-law remain among the captives, described the absence of communication from authorities as agonising, saying, “We are dying in silence.”
The latest contact from the kidnappers marks the first indication that they are willing to negotiate, but only if the government agrees to enter discussions and pay a ransom. Despite renewed appeals from the families following the call, they say they have yet to receive any response from government authorities regarding the terrorists’ demands.
The demand comes despite Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which criminalises the payment of ransom to terrorists and kidnappers, prescribing penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment for offenders. The Federal Government has consistently maintained that it does not negotiate with terrorists, arguing that ransom payments fuel further kidnappings and terrorism.
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