Stop lying we paid N6.6m to secure release of our daughters’- Community leader tells Zamfara Gov.

Dan-Aji community of Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, where 26 girls were abducted by bandits, has countered the claim by the Zamfara State Government that no ransom was paid to secure their release from captivity.

The Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle had claimed to secure the release of the 26 young girls who were kidnapped by bandits in Katsina State and taken to a hideout in the bush without payment of ransom.

Governor Bello Matawalle had earlier tweeted that: “I interacted with 26 rescued girls after medical professionals have ascertained their physical and mental fitness following days of trauma suffered in kidnappers den.

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“The young girls kidnapped from Katsina State were rescued on 6/11/2020 as a result of our intervention.”

Also in a statement released by Zailani Bappa, the Special Adviser to Governor Matawalle on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications,  said the girls, aged between 8 and 12, were reportedly released to the state government without the payment of ransom.

But the village head of Dan-Aji, Alhaji Lawal Dogara, told newsmen on Monday in Katsina that the community paid N6.6 million ransom to free the girls.

Dogara said, “The governor of Zamfara State should stop claiming credit for the release of our women because we paid for their release.’’

According to him, two community leaders, Alhaji Abdulkarim Dan Aji and Liman Babangida Dan-Aji, trekked for three days into the forest to deliver the ransom to the bandits.