Amid the news of release, abductors of the wife of the late former Edo Speaker, Hassana Garuba has reportedly demanded N20m ransom before setting her free.
It would be recalled that a family source had earlier confirmed to newsmen that Hassana was released unhurt by her abductors.
But Contrarily, another source within the family on Sunday said Mrs Hassana Garuba, the wife of Alhaji Zakawanu Garuba, the deceased ex-Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly is yet to be freed by her abductors.
Mrs Garuba was kidnapped along with her driver on Saturday evening at Kabba junction on the Abuja-Lokoja road, Kogi State on her way to Auchi, Edo State for the funeral of her husband who passed away earlier in the day at the National Hospital, Abuja.
A family source who pleaded anonymity disclosed that the unknown gunmen who were incommunicado for hours after they were kidnapped have finally spoken with the family members.
The source said that the kidnappers had
established contact with the family members and that they initially demanded N20 million before letting go of their quarry but eventually reduce the ransom money to N15 million after persistent pleadings by the family members and friends.
But as at the time of filing this report, the Police department was still yet to comment on the incident.
Meanwhile, the remains of Garuba, have been laid to rest in his hometown of Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area in strict observance of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) regulations on social distancing
His corpse arrived Auchi on Saturday night and was immediately buried in accordance with Islamic rites in a low key private ceremony.