The kidnappers threatened to “waste” the children if the council did not pay the ransom of 10 million naira ($ 26,230), said council member Alaje Odewu.
They raided the orphanage, which housed 17 minors, earlier on Saturday.
“(They were) wielding their rifles for the children, they selected the older ones and took them along with their matron who was carrying a baby under 1 year old and another adult worker,” said Odewu.
The matron was later released along with the baby and another girl.
When the hijackers called to demand the ransom, they insulted the board for not paying immediately. The orphanage told the hijackers that it has no money and asks people to pray for the safe return of children.
“They told me that they knew that children were orphans,” he said. “I feel very sad because these are just innocent children; the oldest of them is only 16 years old and most of the others are between 5 and 6 years old, ”said Odewu.
The culprits have not yet been identified, but the police are on the trail, he said, adding that kidnappings like this “are not new to the community”.
Although kidnappings for ransom by criminal elements in Katsina state have seen a worrying increase, a kidnapping on this scale has not been reported previously. He recalls the kidnapping of 276 girls from Chibok in 2014. More than 100 of these girls never came home.