Outrage as bandits kill Abuja trader , UniAbuja daughter after ₦12m ransom payment

A prominent Dei-Dei market trader, Muhammad Shuaibu, and his 19-year-old daughter, Fatima, have been killed by bandits in Niger State despite their family paying a cumulative ransom of ₦12 million in three installments.

Bandits have reportedly killed an Abuja-based businessman, Muhammad Shuaibu, and his 19-year-old daughter, Fatima Muhammad, a student of the University of Abuja, following a harrowing six-month abduction ordeal. Shuaibu, a well-known trader at the Dei-Dei Modern Market in the Bwari Area Council, was kidnapped alongside his two daughters on October 3, 2025, when armed men invaded their residence in the Zhidu community of Tafa Local Government Area, Niger State. Despite the family’s desperate efforts to secure their release through the payment of ₦12 million in three separate tranches of ₦6 million, ₦4 million, and ₦2 million, the captors ultimately executed the student and informed the family of the father’s demise.

The details of the captivity paint a grim picture of the bandits’ brutality, as a family source revealed that Fatima was murdered nearly three months ago while negotiations were still active. The kidnappers reportedly justified the killing by accusing the teenager of being “stubborn.” After the final payment of ₦2 million was delivered, the bearer was sent back with the devastating news that Shuaibu had also died in the bush due to a severe illness. To raise the exorbitant ransom, the family was forced to liquidate Shuaibu’s livelihood, including his market shop, private vehicle, and sachet water production machinery. “The bandits even asked us to sell his house, but there was no buyer,” a relative stated on condition of anonymity, highlighting the total financial ruin brought upon the household.

The double tragedy has sparked deep sorrow and fear within the Dei-Dei trading community and the University of Abuja, where Fatima was a student. The incident underscores the persistent insecurity in the border communities between the Federal Capital Territory and Niger State, where kidnapping for ransom has become a recurring menace. As of Wednesday, April 8, 2026, the Niger State Police Command has yet to provide an official report on the killings. SP Wasiu Abiodun, the Command’s spokesperson, did not respond to inquiries regarding the status of the investigation or efforts to recover the remains of the deceased for burial.

READ THE FULL STORY IN DAILY TRUST