Emerging reports have alleged that the 38 people, including 24 Kagara students, who were kidnapped by bandits, were swapped with prisoners to secure their freedom.
A report has claimed that some members of the bandits’ gang being held in Nigerian prisons, were released before a deal could be struck.
It would be recalled that efforts to establish contact with the abductors took some time as Niger State Governor complained of complications before subsequent negotiations happened. The victims were later released to a team of police and other security agents around 7am on Saturday.
It is reported that the bandits demanded the release of six members of their group arrested at different times by security agents.
Four of the six named persons were identified in different detention facilities in Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states.
However, Niger state Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Idris, denied there was a prisoner swap. He also denied that ransom was paid to the kidnappers.
