An uncle of the Al-Kadriyar sisters that were kidnapped by bandits in Abuja has disclosed that ransom was paid to secure their release.

Recall that the girls were released around midnight of Saturday after bandits kidnapped the family on January 2 at their residence in the Zuma 1 area, on the outskirts of Bwari town in Abuja.

However, a police statement on Sunday said the victims were rescued by the Force Anti-kidnapping Squad and the Nigerian Army in Kajuru forest, Kaduna state, on Saturday, January 20.

But in a chat with the BBC Yoruba, the girls’ uncle, Sheriff Al-Kadriyar, revealed that neither the police nor the army played a role in the release of the sisters.

The uncle said a ransom was paid to the bandits, and the kidnappers dropped the girls in a forest for them to be collected.

Sheriff said the family went to collect the girls after a ransom was paid. He, however, did not disclose how much was paid as ransom.

He said: “There’s nothing like rescue on this matter; we paid the ransom – even though I can’t disclose how much for security reasons.

“The kidnappers chose the day and the location we were to pick up the girls about four or five days after ransom payment.”

Sheriff added that a group of male relatives then headed to the Kajuru forest in neighbouring Kaduna state to find the girls.

The uncle said the intention of the family’s account was not to discredit the police but to clarify how the girls were freed.

He said it was on their way they stumbled upon an army unit and requested help, adding that the army officers escorted them to find the girls and afterwards took them all home by around 11:30 p.m.

“We are happy and we thank God that the girls were found alive,” he said.