Nigeria’s Defence Minister says Paying Ransoms to Kidnappers Makes it Worse

Mohammed Badaru Abubakar’s comments come as the deadline to pay a ransom for the release of five sisters expired. The six sisters, aged from the early teens to 23, were taken hostage in the Abuja suburb of Bwari along with their father Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, who was later released to raise the ransom. His 21-year-old daughter, Nabeeha, a final year university student, was killed last Friday as a warning that the huge ransom be paid. But Mr Abubakar said responding to the kidnappers’ demands only made them more greedy. The case has shocked the country and people have been donating to a crowdfunding initiative. There has been an outcry that the insecurity has reached the capital, prompting Abuja’s police force to launch a special squad to tackle the kidnapping gangs on Wednesday.