A former Nigerian general has been found dead after a botched kidnapping, sources confirm, as British diplomats scramble to negotiate a hostage release deal. The body of Major-General Idris Alkali (retd) was discovered in a shallow grave near Abuja on Tuesday, three weeks after he was abducted from his farm. Investigators say his death complicates a fragile backchannel effort by UK officials to free two British aid workers held by the same criminal network.
Alkali, 72, was snatched on 4 March by armed men who demanded a ransom of 200 million naira (£380,000). His family says they paid a smaller sum but the kidnappers reneged. The general's murder marks a bloody escalation in the conflict along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, a corridor that has become a hunting ground for militias.
British diplomats have been quietly working with Nigerian authorities and local intermediaries to negotiate the release of Sarah and John Miller, a couple from Manchester who were taken from their vehicle in February. The kidnappers initially asked for £1.5 million, but sources say talks had progressed to a lower figure before Alkali's death blew up the process.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman declined to comment on the reported negotiations, stating only that "we are working tirelessly to secure the release of British nationals in Nigeria." But a Nigerian security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "The British have been pushing for a pact, but now the game has changed. The group is unpredictable."
The kidnappers are believed to be affiliated with the Fulani militia led by Zamfara warlord Abu Sufyan. Sufyan's network has been linked to dozens of abductions for ransom, including the 2019 kidnapping of a British oil executive in Delta State. British intelligence officers have been tracking his cell phone and meeting with his emissaries in secret locations across northern Nigeria.
Alkali's death came just hours after a meeting between a British diplomat and a representative of the kidnappers at a guesthouse in Kaduna. That meeting broke down when the representative demanded a deadline for the ransom payment. Sources close to the family say the general's body was dumped within sight of the main highway, a warning to other targets.
Nigerian police have arrested 12 suspects and launched a manhunt for the killers. But the country's security forces are stretched thin, fighting a dual insurgency in the northeast and banditry in the northwest. The Abuja-Kaduna road, once a vital economic artery, has become a graveyard for the unlucky.
Uncovered documents from the Nigerian human rights commission show that at least 340 people were killed or kidnapped along that route in the last year alone. The number is almost certainly higher. Unofficial tallies compiled by local journalists put the figure at over 600.
For the British Foreign Office, the pressure is mounting. The Millers' families have appealed publicly for the government to pay the ransom, but Prime Minister Starmer has maintained his hardline stance that the UK will not negotiate with terrorists. Yet behind the scenes, the diplomats are doing exactly that.
A former UK intelligence officer with knowledge of the region said: "The policy is no concessions, but it's a lie. We've paid ransoms before, through third parties. The difference here is the risk of a mercenary death squad being unleashed to hunt the captors. That would be a disaster."
Alkali's murder has already shifted the calculus. One source inside the Nigerian presidency said: "The government is worried about a British intervention. They don't want foreign boots on the ground, but they can't save the hostages either. The ex-general's death makes it worse."
As night falls on Abuja, the search for the missing Britons continues. Two plainclothes officers sit outside the Millers' rented flat in the city, watching. The parents of Sarah Miller released a statement this evening: "Every minute feels like a year. Please, bring our daughter home."
