Bandits, who kidnapped 15 Qur’anic students in Sokoto State, have established contact with their families, demanding a whopping sum of N20million as ransom before they would be released.

Proprietor of the school, Liman Abubakar, who confirmed the latest development in a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Tuesday, said the bandits called him and requested for N20million for the students to be freed.

“They called me this morning around 11am and directed me to meet our village head and tell him to raise N20million for the children.

“I went and discussed the matter with the village head but we are yet to reach a conclusion,” he said

Meanwhile, the Sokoto State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Ahmed Rufai, said the Command was still working to free the abducted students.

“We are still searching the surrounding villages and forest to get the exact location of where the kids are been held.

“We are on it and hopefully we will get them rescued,” the PPRO said.

Recall that the said 15 students were abducted by bandits, who raided Gidan Bakuso village in Gada local government area of Sokoto State in the early hours of Saturday.