GUSAU (Nigeria)–Masked men emerged on motorbikes from the forest, surrounding an intelligence officer with a bag full of cash. The ransom, nearly $50,000 in crisp Nigerian bank notes, wasn’t for a person, but to retrieve a weapon that directly threatened the country’s president.
In a fight with an army unit, a kidnapping gang had taken over an anti-aircraft gun from a Rugu forest camp. This was a serious threat to President Muhammadu Buhari. He had planned to fly back to his home town 80, so the government bought it back.