Hundreds Of Schoolboys Abducted In Katsina Released

Hundreds of students abducted from a school in Kankara
Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State have been released,
authorities in the state have said.

The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, confirmed the release
of the students on Thursday, a week after they were kidnapped by
gunmen.

According to him, the boys are presently kept safe in Tsafe, a
local government area in Zamfara State.

Governor Masari noted that the boys would be brought back to
Kankara in Katsina State on Friday.

Mr Suleiman Tsiga, who is the Information Officer of Ƙanƙara
LGA, also confirmed the release of the students to Channels
Television.

He disclosed that the state governor, Aminu Masari, had directed
that the children be moved to Ƙankara LGA secretariat before he
changed his decision for security reasons.

The Armed Forces Know Their Job

Although the government did not give a specific figure of
students released by their captors, over 300 of them were
unaccounted for before the news of their freedom broke.

Shortly after their release was reported, President Muhammadu
Buhari described the safe return of the schoolboys as a big relief
to their families, the entire country and to the international
community.

He commended what he called the spirit of partnership and the
collaborative efforts of the governments of Katsina, Zamfara and
military which led to the release of the students.

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“The Governor (Masari) and the army worked extremely hard. As
soon as I got the information, I congratulated them.

“The Armed Forces know their job. They have been well trained
and properly motivated,” President Buhari was quoted as saying in a
statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu.

Katsina State is located in the north-west region of the
country, but the Boko Haram terrorist group which has been
operating in the North East for more than a decade claimed
responsibility for the abduction.

On Friday last week, gunmen suspected to be bandits invaded the
Government Science Secondary School in Kankara.

While some of the students abducted escaped during the incident,
some others returned recently as the grieving parents keep watch at
the school in anticipation of their children’s release.

Few Hours Turn Four Days

The abduction of the students sparked an outrage with calls from
various individuals and groups on the government to step up efforts
towards securing the lives of the people.

It occurred at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari had
travelled to Daura, his hometown in Katsina for a private
visit.

The President had condemned the incident in a statement shortly
after it happened and sent a delegation of the Federal Government
comprising the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi,
and the service chiefs to Katsina to work with the state government
in securing the release of the schoolboys.

VIDEO: The Minister of Defence, Major
General Bashir Magashi, says all the schoolboys will return home in
the next few hours.

In spite of his action, President Buhari was under fire for not
visiting Kankara to sympathise with the parents of the
students.

Receiving the delegation at the Government House on Sunday,
Governor Masari confirmed that at least 333 students were still
unaccounted for.

Magashi, on his part, had assured the governor that the security
agencies had swung into action and promised that the boys would be
rescued “in some few hours”.

It, however, took four days since the minister made the remarks
before the students were released.

Their parents can now heave a sigh of relief when their children
return to them, but it is unclear if their captors released all the
students.

Read the full statement of the President’s reaction to
the release of the boys below:

PRESIDENT BUHARI WELCOMES THE RELEASE OF KIDNAPPED KANKARA
STUDENTS

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the release of kidnapped
students of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara,
describing their safe return as a big relief to their families, the
entire country and to the international community.

In a short remark shortly after their release was announced,
President Buhari expressed the nation’s appreciation for the steps
taken by all involved to make their release possible.

President Buhari specifically cited what he called the “spirit
of partnership and the collaborative efforts of the government of
Katsina, Zamfara and military leading to the release and commended
the nation’s intelligence agencies, the military and police force
for providing the environment for the safe release of the
hostages.”

“The Governor (Masari) and the army worked extremely hard. As
soon as I got the information I congratulated them. The Armed
Forces know their job. They have been well trained and properly
motivated.”

On the issue of detainees held elsewhere in the country by
either terrorists or bandits, the President gave assurances that
his administration is acutely aware of its responsibility to
protect the life and property of the Nigerians.

He urged the citizens to be fair to the administration as it
deals with the problems of security, economy and corruption which
the administration was elected to resolve.

“When we came, we made efforts that yielded the return of the
Chibok Girls. When a similar incident of school abduction happened
at Dapchi, we successfully returned all but one of the more than
one hundred abductees. When this latest incident happened, we put
in our efforts and today we have this result to show.”

The President pointed to the successes of the administration in
dealing with security in the South-South and the North East. He
said the North West now presented a problem which his
administration is determined to deal with.

“We have a lot of work to do, especially now that we have
reopened the borders. It is unfortunate that the bandits and
terrorists continued to get weapons even under the circumstances of
the border closure. We are going to dare them. We will deal with
all that,” the President further assured.

He prayed for the full recovery of the students who he said had
endured significant hardships in the course of their six-day
ordeal.

He also gave further assurances of the determination of his
administration to return to safety all fellow citizens held against
their will.

Garba Shehu.

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