By RFIPosted on 05-01-2020Modified on 05-01-2020 at 18:46

In Niger, the mayor of the commune of Kabléwa, in the Diffa region, was released by his captors on Saturday evening January 4. Abari El Hadj Daouda and his wife were kidnapped on October 19 by unidentified gunmen.

Abari El Hadj Daouda returned home this Sunday morning and was able to find his family and loved ones. Tarinou Daouda is moved because his brother has been back for a few hours with his wife after spending more than two months in the hands of his captors.

"The whole family is there, crying, dancing ... It's a warm welcome ," he says.

On October 19, at nightfall, armed men surrounded the mayor's house. They wake up his wife and take them both away.

We do not know who the kidnappers are, but Tarinou Daouda sees in it the imprint of the jihadists of Boko Haram, active around Lake Chad . The practice of abduction, he tells us, is common in the region.

According to his relatives, Abari El Hadj Daouda returned in good health, but his wife is sick. The couple were apparently not ill-treated, but the conditions of detention were difficult.

" They were treated well, but the conditions of detention are difficult ... already the water, the mosquitoes, the cold, the wind ... so when you leave your house, it's not luxury; there is nothing, what, ”added Tarinou Daouda.

What made this release possible after more than two months in detention? The family claims to have had no contact with the state and to have paid a ransom to the kidnappers, without revealing the amount, with the participation of all the relatives, friends and acquaintances of the couple.

Kidnapped on October 20, 2019, the Mayor of #Kablewa, a small southeastern commune in #Niger, nearly 1,600 km from Niamey, was released on Saturday for 1 ransom of 30,000 euros (20 million FCFA). Weakened #Boko Haram forces ransom payments to finance itself. Read our book. pic.twitter.com/AkmGCoemD1

Seidik Abba (@abbaseidik) January 4, 2020

What is the attitude of the authorities?

Joined by RFI, freelance journalist Seidik Abba, author of the book " Voyage to the Heart of Boko Haram ", claims that kidnappings for ransom have become almost daily in this region of Niger.

" The authorities seem to have left the matter to be settled between the kidnappers and the families. We can understand that the defense and security forces are mobilized by several fronts because Niger faces a situation in the northwest with the border with Mali, in the southeast, with Boko Haram and Nigeria, but also to the north with Libya. The defense and security forces are therefore very mobilized and suddenly, one has the impression that on the issue of ransoms, there is not a very clear and very determined commitment from the State. These are the families who, today, fortified by another solution, are forced to contribute - and often the people who are members of the family and who are outside are also called upon - to collect the sums money, because there is no other alternative than paying the ransom, ”he explains.

    On the same subject

    Niger: two female hostages freed for ransom in the Lake Chad region

    Niger: kidnapping of an Italian priest southwest of Niamey

    Niger: increasing kidnappings in the regions of Lake Chad and Maradi

    Niger kidnapped, secures border with Nigeria

    comments