Mediaage NG News – ABUJA, Nigeria
Some victims of kidnapping in Nigeria who were recently released say snakes were used to terrorise them to call friends and families into raising ransoms to get them freed.
One abductee told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that some victims were forcibly taken to areas known to be snake-infested.
“That’s when a victim will ask friends and family to sell everything to raise the ransom – house, cars, goods, just everything”, NAN quotes one saying.
Local doctors have confirmed that some kidnap victims have required treatment for snake bites following their release.
Nigeria has seen an increase in kidnappings, with ever greater sums being extorted.