Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
For a man who spends his days reporting the crisis of insecurity in Nigeria's North-West, the nightmare has become deeply personal. Ernest Thyek Maidawa, the Chief Executive Officer of Gurara TV, has become the target of a chilling kidnapping and death threat. This terrifying development comes less than 24 hours after his brother-in-law's two children were snatched from their home in Rimi Village, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The attack on the family of the media executive began on the night of Sunday, August 30, 2026. Daniel Dominic, an Air Force officer and the brother-in-law to Maidawa, was away on a night shift when more than 10 heavily armed men invaded his residence. The attackers, wielding rifles and machetes, first abducted a neighbour before breaking into Dominic's home. Dominic's wife tried to hide their three children—13-year-old Derick, 11-year-old Damina, and 7-year-old Dominion—in a kitchen cabinet. But the gunmen discovered them and abducted the two older boys, Derick and Damina, taking them into the surrounding bush. Their mother, who was struggling with poor health, was briefly taken but released and ordered to tell her husband to start raising money.
The abductors have since made contact with the distraught father, Daniel Dominic, demanding a staggering N100 million ransom for the safe return of his two sons. Speaking to SaharaReporters, Dominic stated he had no capability to pay such a sum and warned that failure to meet the demand could put his children in danger.
But the terror did not end there. The day after the abduction, Maidawa, the Gurara TV CEO, began receiving threatening text messages from an unidentified number. The sender demanded N2 million and warned him to "play safe," threatening to kidnap and kill him. One message chillingly read: "Report to anywhere walahi we must kill you". The sender claimed that three people had been contracted to kidnap Maidawa and that the payment would reveal who was behind the plot.
Maidawa believes the threats are likely an extortion scam, possibly exploiting the public knowledge of his family's ordeal. He has, however, reported the matter to the police and the Department of State Services. "I have sent this number to the DPO, Sabon Police Station, here in Kaduna. I have also sent it to the DSS, and the PPRO," he said.
The abduction and subsequent threats have heightened concerns over the safety of journalists and media workers in Nigeria's conflict zones. Gurara TV has appealed to security agencies to treat the incident as an emergency. As of the time of reporting, efforts to reach the Kaduna State Police Command spokesperson were unsuccessful. For Maidawa, his family is now the headline, and the story is far from over.
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