The Canadian woman kidnapped last week in Kaduna State is seriously ill, her captors said yesterday.
“Our hostage is seriously sick, she has malaria and rashes all over her body,” a self-proclaimed leader of the abductors told an AFP reporter on the cell phone they seized from her Nigerian friend when they kidnapped her.
“She is still weak even after taking some medication we offered her. She can barely talk,” the kidnapper said.
The kidnappers, who seized the woman identified as Julie Ann Mulligan, last week, are demanding $136, 000 as ransom.
Mulligan, 45, was one of five Canadians on a Rotary Exchange Programme in Nigeria.
The leader of the gang, who did not give his name, said he would not be seeking medical attention for Mulligan.
The police declined comment, but said progress was being made with investigation.
The police, however, promised to secure her release.
“We don’t want to be saying much on our investigation because doing so would jeopardise our efforts to secure her release,” police spokesperson Aminu Lawan said.
“All I can say is that we have made tremendous progress in our investigation and we are confident that we will secure her freedom,” he added.