26 students and one teacher kidnapped from Bethel Baptist Secondary School, Kujama, Kaduna state early Monday morning have been rescued.
This was made known by the Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Kaduna state police Command, ASP Muhammed Jalige in a statement made available to newsmen.
According to him, the police and other security agencies gave the kidnappers and their captives a hot pursuit following which they engaged them and were able to rescue a teacher and 26 students.
While noting that the rescue operation is still ongoing to ensure that all victims are safely returned, the command urged parents not to be deterred by the recent bandits’ activities in the state targeting schools and learning institutions as strategic measures will be emplaced to forestall further occurrence of such dastardly act of criminality against innocent children.
What the police spokesperson said
"In the early hours of today Monday 5th July, 2021 at about 01:43hrs the Command received a report that armed bandits in large number had gained access into Bethel Baptist Secondary School Kujuma in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
“They shot berserkly, overpowered the school’s security guards and made their way into the students hostel where they abducted an unspecified number of students into the forest.
"On the receipt of the unfortunate incident, a joint team of the Nigeria Police, Army and Navy Operatives were immediately mobilised to the area with a mission to rescue the abducted students unhurt. The Operatives gave the bandits a hot pursuit occasioned by a tactical application of weapons and succeeded in rescuing 26 students including a female teacher safely.
“However, the rescue operation is still ongoing to ensure that all victims are safely returned. Officers involved in the said operation are charged to ensure no stone is left unturned with a view to successfully accomplish the rescue mission since resources will be availed them without delay.
"The Command is therefore encouraging parents not to be deterred by the recent bandits’ activities in the state targeting schools and learning institutions as strategic measures will be emplaced to forestall further occurrence of such dastardly act of criminality against innocent children.
“The Command is saddened by the incident and call on all stakeholders on security to unite particularly at this very critical time to safeguard schools in order to guarantee a safe and secured learning environment and other meaningful businesses,” ASP Jalige added.
School abductions continue to hit Northern Nigeria
Northwest Nigeria has recorded a total number of 6 massive school abductions since December last year.
Over 800 school children have been abducted from since then and the kidnappers often take advantage of the remote locations of their targets which often make swift response by security agents challenging. The fact that most of their targets are government owned schools is also a factor as most of them do not have the funding required to provide their own security apparatus.
Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger and Katsina have borne the most brunt from recent abductions.
The genesis of school abductions can be traced to the abduction of 276 school girls by boko haram insurgents in 2014.
According to Amnesty International, most of the students who have been freed receive either inadequate or no psychological support at all.
The recent abductions have also contributed to the increase in out of school students in the region from 2014 till date showing a rise from 3 million to 10 million.
