Boko Haram insurgents have demanded a $500,000 ransom for the release of the wife, police orderly, and driver of Justice Haruna Mshelia, a High Court judge in Borno State.
According to a family source, the terrorists rejected an initial offer of $50,000, insisting on the full amount before freeing the remaining captives.
Justice Mshelia was abducted on June 24, 2024, alongside his wife, Binta Othman—a magistrate at Wulari Court in Maiduguri—his police orderly, and his driver.
While the judge was released on September 8 after a substantial ransom was reportedly paid, the insurgents demanded an additional $500,000 for the release of his family and staff.
“We learned that the family raised almost $50,000, but the insurgents refused, insisting on the full amount,” a source disclosed.
When contacted, the Borno State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, stated that he needed more time to provide an official update on the abducted police orderly. Attempts to reach Justice Mshelia for comment were unsuccessful as his phone remained switched off.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Professor Abubakar Eljuma, the Dean of the Technology Department at the Nigerian Army University Biu (NAUB), remain unknown.
He was abducted by suspected Boko Haram militants, but neither the university nor his family has received any communication from the kidnappers regarding his fate.
In a separate incident, suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked a police station in Malari, Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.
The attackers reportedly attempted to destroy an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) but were repelled by security forces. ASP Nahum Daso confirmed that the terrorists fled after sustaining gunshot wounds, only managing to deflate the APC’s tires before retreating.