Bandits demand new Naira notes for kidnapped victims’ ransom

Bandits in Zamfara have demanded for the new Naira notes for the N10 million ransom for the four people — a man, a woman, and two children—they abducted in Kolo village in the Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

Mohammed Ibrahim, a local, reportedly claimed that the bandits eventually lowered the demanded ransom to N5 million and that residents of the community had been working to acquire the money to ensure the victims’ safe release.

“As we were trying to gather the money demanded by the terrorists, they sent another message this morning that they would not collect old naira notes. They said they would keep the abducted persons in their camps until the release of the new naira notes in December,” Ibrahim said.

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President Muhammadu Buhari officially unveiled the new naira notes on Wednesday.

On October 26, the Central Bank of Nigeria stated that it would redesign the 200, 500, and 1000 naira notes. It specified that the new notes would begin to circulate on December 15, 2022.

The new notes were to be unveiled prior to the weekly cabinet meeting at the State House in Abuja.

The central bank announced it would redesign the naira notes to allow it to manage inflation and combat counterfeiting, address kidnappings as well as to have control over the amount of money in circulation.