Tsiga, Kidnapped Former NYSC DG Regains Freedom After 56 Days in Captivity
After a harrowing 56-day ordeal, Brigadier-General Maharazu Tsiga (rtd), a retired Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has finally regained freedom.
The retired general was abducted from his home town in Bakori local government area of Katsina State on February 5, 2025, along with nine others.
Despite payment of enormous ransom by his family, kidnappers of Tsiga still held him hostage for weeks, generating widespread concerns and speculations regarding his fate.
Sources familiar with the family revealed that the ransom paid was far higher than the initially declared amount of N60m, with some putting the figure at nearly three times the figure quoted.
A member of one of the close relations informed our journalist that after collecting the ransom, the abductors kept quiet for an entire week until they called Tsiga’s family on Tuesday, March 11, to promise them that their son was very much alive.
“They got the ransom money, and we only heard him after one week, on Tuesday, March 11, after they called him,” the source disclosed.
But in a surprising turn of events, the kidnappers had subsequently demanded additional money, which was reportedly turned down by the family. “Nothing was actually added, and as we speak, they are in Zamfara state, from where they will take the general to Abuja,” said the source.
The highest defence source has confirmed our paper’s release of Tsiga and also reported by insiders close to his family that he is fine even though he had been held for so long. His release came as a relief to his family members and loved ones who all along had been hoping to receive him safe and sound.
