By Morgan Freeman
Two husbands of kidnapped Assistant Directors in the Ministry of Defence have raised fresh alarm after paying part of a ₦60 million ransom.
They are distraught that their wives who were abducted along the Kabba route in Kogi State on Nov. 9, 2025 have still not been released.
The victims, all teachers with the Command Secondary School, Ojo, were travelling aboard an AndyLiz Motors bus when they were taken alongside other passengers.
In the Festac Town home of the Emeribe family, the framed photograph of Mrs Chinwe Emeribe in her University of Lagos graduation gown once a symbol of joy now hangs like a silent question.
Chinwe and Mrs Juliana Onyekachi Onwuzurike remain in captivity, while four of their colleagues were earlier freed.
Families woke up days after the abduction to media reports falsely claiming that all six women had been released.
“I saw it on TV, Mr. Nnamdi Emeribe said. But my wife and Juliana were still missing. That report was not true.”
For Mr Chibuikem Onwuzurike, the shock was sharper.
“Four were freed, yes. But my loving wife Juliana was not among them.”
Mr Emeribe recounted the detailed timeline of his wife’s journey—boarding at Festac First Gate, a final reminder to take her medication, and then hours of unanswered calls.
By nightfall, both her phone lines had gone silent.
Hours later, the truth would emerge at the transport park —The bus had been ambushed.
“When I heard they were kidnapped in Kabba, tears ran down my cheeks. I couldn’t hold myself,” he said.
The kidnappers first demanded ₦100 million, then ₦150 million.
Eventually, the total ransom was reduced to ₦60 million, to be contributed by the families.
The women briefly spoke to their husbands under duress.
She told me to sell anything sellable,” Mr. Onwuzurike said. “She said the torture was too much.
Families pleaded with the transport company to pay the ransom upfront, promising reimbursement.
The owner reportedly agreed to pay only ₦15 million.
Some of the ransom details include:
₦5.625 million was paid by Onwuzurike for his wife.
An additional ₦804,000 per family was paid for a deportee held with them.
The ransom cash was packed in six bags of ₦10 million each.
The delivery was mandated to be done only with AndyLiz Motors’ vehicle.
The Ghana High Commission reportedly declined to participate in ransom payment for its citizens abducted in the same bus.
Mr Emeribe’s twin children turned nine on Nov. 26 a day that should have been joyful.
They kept asking me, ‘When will mummy come back?’ I had no answer.
One of the abducted women was reportedly abandoned by the kidnappers because she could no longer walk due to severe knee pain.
The families fear this may be related to their missing wives.
On Nov. 17, the day the hostages were expected to return, families gathered at the transport park from noon.
At 5 p.m., the bus arrived empty of the two women still missing.
Where are our wives?
Where are the women?
Only four came out, the driver said.
The husbands claim that so far they had received no assistance from the Ministry of Defence.
There has been no official contact from the Army, and coordination from any security agency.
No follow-up from the transport company, whose owner has since been unreachable.
A director at the Ministry confirmed anonymously that only four women had been freed, and “apprehension has heightened” regarding the remaining two.
This case exposes once again the systemic collapse in Nigeria’s response to mass abductions.
Civil servants on official duty travelled without security escort.
Transport companies face no accountability standards.
No official support for ransom, rescue, or family welfare. No communication structure during crises.
Victims’ families forced into negotiation with heavily armed kidnappers.
The fact that two women remain missing despite full ransom payment raises even deeper concerns about possible internal sabotage, communication breakdowns, or failure to enforce rescue protocols.
