Two sons of a Nigerian Air Force officer have remained in kidnappers’ captivity for nine weeks in Kaduna State despite their family reportedly paying N26 million and supplying 25 mobile phones to secure their release.
The abductors have now demanded an additional N200 million, claiming the children’s father, a military officer, allegedly sent people to their hideout, according to their mother, Tina Daniel Dominic.
Dominic told SaharaReporters on Friday that her sons, Derrick, who will turn 14 in December, and 12-year-old Damian, were abducted from their residence in Rimi, Kamazou, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on August 30, 2026.
She said armed men invaded their home at night while her husband was away at his duty post.
Recounting the incident, Dominic explained that she was unwell and had gone to bed earlier than usual when she heard gunshots.
“On 30th of August, 2026, I was in my home at Rimi, Kamazou. That night, I was not feeling fine, so we entered earlier than usual. We were sleeping, and then I started hearing noise, sounds of gunshots,” she said.
“So I picked my phone to call my neighbour, I’m hearing gunshots. They said yes, that it’s close, but they heard that kidnappers were in my neighbour’s house.
“I now wake up, on my way to go and wake my children to come so that we can stay together. I now realise that they are in my house. I was hearing how they were trying to break my fence.”
According to her, her husband, who serves in the Nigerian Air Force, was not at home when the attackers arrived.
“My husband is an Air Force personnel. He went back to his place of work,” she said.
She explained that she attempted to hide her three children in a kitchen pantry, but the gunmen had already gained access to the house through her eldest son’s bedroom.
“So I hid my children inside my kitchen pantry. Even before I finished hiding them, they had already come in through my first son’s room, Derrick’s room. They opened the burglary and came in.
“I’ve already hidden my three children, Derrick, Damian and Dominion.”
Dominic said the attackers demanded to know the whereabouts of her husband and children before threatening her with guns and taking her outside.
She claimed the gunmen eventually discovered Derrick and Damian inside the house and took them away, while leaving her youngest child, Dominion, behind.
“I insisted that my children are not around, but they went in and came back. I think they received a call that the children are in the house. So they went back to the house, and then the only thing I saw, they brought my two sons out.
“I was asking Derrick, why did you people come out? They said, ‘No mommy, we did not come out, they opened and they checked and they saw us.’ I said where is Dominion, they said they left Dominion.”
She further disclosed that the abductors marched her, her two sons and a neighbour through the bush for approximately two hours before ordering her to return home because she was struggling to continue walking due to her poor health.
“We walked to an extent with the children and my neighbour. We followed the back of that Rimi. We are walking and along the line, like an hour to two hours’ walk, they saw that I could not go on again because I was falling, I could not walk faster. I was falling because I was not feeling fine.
“So they said I should go back. I said I cannot go back, where will I go? They said no, I should go back and look for money. And then they collected my phone and said I should go back and look for money, that they will call back.
“I said I don’t know the road of that location. They said I should go back, that I should just be going, that I will see people. So that is how I managed to reach home that day.”
Family Sells Cars, Valuables to Raise N26m Ransom
Dominic said the kidnappers initially demanded N500 million when they contacted the family the following day.
She explained that her husband told them he could not afford the amount, despite their insistence that he was wealthy because he was a military officer who flew aircraft.
According to her, the abductors subsequently reduced their demand to N100 million before eventually agreeing to accept N20 million.
The family reportedly sold its cars and other valuable belongings to raise the money.
“We had to sell our cars to try to raise that N20 million and other valuables. We raised the N20 million, they took the 20 million to them. After taking the 20 million, we were expecting they will release our children.
“The way they took money from our neighbour, I think about N15 million thereabouts, and they released him. So we thought after we give the money, they will release the children. They did not release the children.”
She alleged that the kidnappers later claimed the initial payment was incomplete, repeatedly changing the amount they said was outstanding.
“After a week, they started calling again. We said they haven’t released the children. They said no, that the money we took to them is not complete. They said that about N1.3 million is missing from the money. Tomorrow they will say N1.5 million. Next day, they will say N3 million. They are just going up and down.”
Dominic said the abductors subsequently demanded another N6 million and allowed the children to speak with their parents, promising that they would be released once the additional payment was made.
However, the family reportedly paid the money without securing the children’s freedom.
She added that they also supplied 25 mobile phones to the kidnappers, but the boys remained in captivity.
Kidnappers Demand Another N200m
The distraught mother said the abductors went silent for approximately two weeks before contacting the family again on October 29 with a fresh N200 million demand.
According to her, they claimed her husband had allegedly sent people to their camp to attack or retrieve captives, an allegation that prompted them to suspend the children’s release.
“Yesterday, being 29th of October, they reached out to us and said that my husband is a military officer, that he sent people to come to their camp, that they took some people from their camp. So for that, they are not releasing the children. That we have to bring N200 million. That is the new development, that we have to bring N200 million before they will release the children, which we don’t have.”
She said the family had exhausted its resources and could no longer meet the kidnappers’ demands.
“We are crying to the government. We don’t have that amount of money to give to them. We say we don’t have. They said we should go to the government. That my husband is a government worker, that we should go, they will help us. We say we don’t have. That there is no way we can raise that amount of money.”
Mother Accuses Government of Abandoning Family
Dominic also appealed to the Kaduna State Government, President Bola Tinubu and other authorities to intervene, alleging that repeated attempts to draw their attention to the children’s abduction had yielded no response.
“We are crying for help from anywhere and everywhere to secure the release of my children. The government has abandoned us. I posted the kidnap incident and tagged the Kaduna State Governor and President Bola Tinubu, but it appears nobody is interested in our case.
“We are being tortured because my husband is a Nigerian military officer. For two weeks now I have been writing and posting, tagging government officials, but no one has reached out.”
She expressed particular concern about Damian’s health, disclosing that the 12-year-old underwent major surgery approximately two years ago and was due for a medical check-up shortly before the abduction.
“I’m begging, these children are small. By December, Derrick will be 14 years, while Damian is 12 years. Damian was not strong; he had a major surgery about two years ago, and recently he came back from school and we were supposed to go to the hospital the next day, being Monday, before this incident happened on Sunday for his check-up.”
Appealing directly to the authorities, she said her husband had repeatedly left his family to serve the country but was now struggling to secure the safety of his own children.
“My husband is a military officer who leaves us every now and then to save this country, but no one, including his country, is ready to save his family. The government should come to our aid. These kidnappers are asking us for what we cannot afford. We have sold everything we’ve got. We bought 25 mobile phones for them, yet they are asking for another N200 million.
“I am begging the Kaduna State Government to come to our aid. As a mother, I’m begging that this situation should touch those in authority, unless they are part of the kidnapping gang. For nine weeks now, these children have been held in captivity,” she lamented.
The latest incident comes amid persistent concerns over kidnappings in Kaduna State, particularly in Chikun Local Government Area.
SaharaReporters had previously reported the abduction of two children belonging to the brother-in-law of Gurara TV Chief Executive Officer and African Peoples Movement (APM) candidate for Jema’a/Sanga Federal Constituency, Ernest Thyek Maidawa.
Those children were also reportedly kidnapped from their residence in the Rimi area of Chikun and had remained in captivity for two months, raising further concerns among residents and affected families over the security situation in the area.
