Insurgent group Boko Haram has demanded 40 cows each for each of the abducted 20 Fulani women as ransom.
The women were abducted from a settlement near Chibok, and Boko Haram are demanding the cows as ransom from their husbands.
According to a police official, the husbands are being very uncooperative.
“You know the Fulanis hold their herds more dearly, because without it they have no means of livelihood”, said the police Sergeant. “Most of them have come to report the incident at our offices but they are all saying such demands are not tenable”.
The officer said they were presently handling a particular case at the police Divisional Outpost in Jakana town of Kaga local government, about 50km away from Maiduguri, where the Fulani man said he would rather stay without his wife than giving out what he does not even have.
“This man in question has a son delivered to him by his abducted wife and presently the man and his son are at the police station in Jakana; he said he was asked to provide 40 cows as ransom for the release of his abducted wife, but the man said he has his son with him; and that if God wills that his wife would return to him, he doesn’t need to part with his means of livelihood to secure her back”.
The Fulani man’s concern was that “what if he gave out the cows, which are not even up to 40 and then his wife was not released; it means he would lose in both ways. So he would rather keep his herds and his son and pray that his wife returns safely home one day”.