The head of a Nigerian village where criminals attacked two churches and kidnapped 36 people on Sunday says people have nothing left to sell to raise ransom money demanded by the kidnappers.
Elisha Mari, head of Rubu village in the north-western Kaduna state, was one of the abductees released on Monday.
He was freed and was asked to mobilise the community to pay ransom for their abducted relatives, according to local media outlets.
He told the BBC that the attackers did not give a timeline for the payment of the ransom.
“This is the third time that they have attacked my village. I told them that we are tired of their attacks and that it is better for them to kill all of us since they have stolen all our cattle and looted our shops,” Mr Mari said in a phone interview.
“We do not have anything that we can sell to raise that amount,” he added.
The police have neither confirmed nor denied the ransom demand.
The commissioner of internal security, Samuel Aruwan, said three people were killed and two others sustained injuries during the attacks.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that one of the churches was ambushed by a convoy of more than 30 motorcycles – each one had between two and three gunmen.
The church was conducting its morning Mass when gunmen opened fire and worshippers started running for safety.
A similar attack was carried out in another church where a Sunday school class was ongoing.
The authorities say most of those kidnapped were women and children.
Locals claim that police officers from a nearby police station did not respond to the attacks.
