A newly inducted radiographer, Basheerah Ojedeyi, has been abducted by kidnappers in Niger State while travelling from Sokoto to Osun State to begin her internship.
The kidnappers have demanded ₦200 million for her release, a sum her family says they cannot afford.
A family source told PUNCH Metro on Wednesday that Ojedeyi left Sokoto on Sunday for Osogbo, where she was scheduled to start her internship at a state-owned hospital. She had been inducted into the professional radiographers’ association just last week.
“On Monday around 2 p.m., she called us to say that her vehicle had developed a fault at Mokwa, Niger State, and that they were fixing it. After that, she was not reachable. By Tuesday morning, we got a call that she had been kidnapped and we should bring ₦200m or they would kill her. We explained we couldn’t afford it, but they are insisting on the amount,” the source said.
The family said the matter has been reported to police commissioners in Sokoto and Niger states, but there has been no official response yet.
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Meanwhile, the Association of Radiographers of Nigeria (ARN) has condemned the abduction. Its National President, Dr. Musa Dambele, described the incident as “heartbreaking and outrageous.”
He said: “This cruel act has turned a moment of joy into a nightmare. Basheerah, a young woman with boundless potential and a promising future in service to humanity, now faces unimaginable danger at the hands of her abductors. The demand of ₦200,000,000 ransom is beyond outrageous; it is inhuman, and it places an irreplaceable life at grave risk.”
Dambele called on President Bola Tinubu, the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, and all security agencies to make Ojedeyi’s safe release a national priority.
“Every second counts. Her safe release must be treated as a national priority. We appeal to the conscience of her abductors: release her unconditionally. Do not destroy the life of a young professional who has chosen a path of service and sacrifice,” he added.
He also urged Nigerians to raise their voices and pray for her safe return, warning that insecurity is increasingly targeting health workers who dedicate their lives to saving others.
Kidnapping incidents have been on the rise across Nigeria. In February, a corps member, Rofiat Lawal, was abducted along the Benin-Ore Expressway and later freed after her family reportedly paid ₦1m ransom. On September 9, three passengers were also kidnapped from an 18-seater bus along the Okene-Lokoja Expressway in Kogi State.