The Principal Government Junior Secondary School, Kuriga Abubakar Isah in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and no fewer than 312 students were abducted in broad daylight on Thursday when bandits invaded the LEA Primary.
The secondary school in Kuriga, located outside the town, was moved to the primary school building inside the town a few years ago due to security breaches.
Officials of the school and community leaders told Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state who visited the school on Thursday, said 187 students were abducted from the secondary school section and 125 from the primary school section.
One of the teachers, Sani Abdullahi who escaped the abduction along with others, said 25 of the pupils from the primary section had returned, the remaining 287 students and the principal in the custody of the bandits.
Abdullahi told the governor that at exactly 7:47 am, he entered the acting principal’s office to sign his attendance when all of a sudden; the bandits surrounded the school premises.
“We became confused; we didn’t know where to go. Then, the bandits asked us to enter the bush, so we obeyed them because there were many of them, and the pupils, who were about 700 were following us. So, when we entered the bush, I was lucky to escape alongside many other people.
“So, I returned to the village and reported what happened to the community. So, immediately our vigilantes and personnel of the Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS) followed the bandits, but the vigilantes did not succeed. The bandits killed one of the vigilantes; we just buried him a short while ago,” he said.
Gov Sani while responding assured them that all the children would return unhurt.
“Before coming here, I spoke with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and we are making efforts. The security forces have swung into action, and by God’s grace, we will rescue the children,” the governor said.
“We will do whatever we need to do to ensure the safe return of these children, even if it means coming to Kuriga to stay with you.
“The essence of government is the protection of citizens’ lives and property. We recognize the fact that we are holding this position in trust for the people, and by God’s grace, we will protect the citizens’ rights,” he said.
According to him, when he was in the Senate, he moved the motion for the creation of state police because he realized that there were not enough boots on the ground.
Sani said with state police, every community like Kuriga would have people in the police, and they would be armed with AK47 rifles to protect the lives and property of the citizens.
A resident, Nasiru Zakari Yau, said among those abducted from the school were 20 orphans and his two relatives.
“I know of about 20 orphans among the abducted students, including two of my relatives, and most of these orphans’ parents were killed by bandits in this community years back. Most of the houses in the village were affected by this abduction,” he said.
Nasiru added that the community only had vigilantes for years due to the absence of police in the village and attributed a poor telecommunication network that prevented the community from calling for assistance from security agencies, as a report had it that there were bandits present outside the village Wednesday around 6 pm.
One of the parents, whose daughter, Safiya Hassan of JSS 3, said the local vigilantes in the village could not contain banditry because the assailants were more sophisticated.
“We are appealing for more security deployment in this community, and we hope the government will help rescue our daughters,” he said.
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