The gunmen who abducted two nurses of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State, have demanded the payment of N17m for the release of the victims.
The nurses, identified as Osemelu Lydia and Ovbiosu Bose, had last Wednesday been kidnapped at Oluku in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State.
They were said to have been on their way home, after picking up their children from school, when they were forcefully taken away in a vehicle to an unknown destination.
It was, however, gathered that the abductors had contacted the relatives of the victims and demanded the sum of N15m for the release of one of the nurses and two million naira for the other.
But the UBTH branch Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Austin Osigbeme, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the kidnappers later reduced the ransom.
Osigbeme also noted that the families of the two nurses had been in pain since they were kidnapped a week ago.
He said, “They have not released them; they are asking for ransom. They started with N15,000 and two million naira but have started beating it down to one million.
“But these are poor people that have no money to pay and that is why we are having that delay.
“They (families) have been apprehensive and having feelings of uncertainty, not sure of what is happening to their wives and sisters.”
The leadership of NANNM had earlier vowed to embark on an indefinite strike to protest the incessant abduction of its members and demand the release of the two nurses.
But Osigbeme said that the proposed strike had been shelved because
“we will not allow people to force us to behave in the way that they want us to behave.”
“We decided to call off the strike and see what happens this week. We are praying,” he added.
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