Less than five days after the abduction of 287 pupils and teachers in Kaduna by bandits, the Nigeria police have confirmed the abduction of 15 Islamic pupils and a woman in North West Sokoto state.
The Police Command in Sokoto State confirmed the abduction of the 15 pupils and the woman in Gidan Bakuso, a village in Gada Local Government Area of the state.
No fewer than 287 pupils and teachers of Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Kaduna, were abducted by bandits on Thursday, triggering nationwide outrage.
The bandits reportedly invaded the Kuriga area of Chikun Local Government Area in Kaduna State, shooting at some of their victims before taking away the remaining pupils and teachers from both schools.
In the latest case, Mr Ahmad Rufa’i, the spokesperson of the Sokoto command of Nigeria Police, said that the abduction of the 15 pupils and the woman took place in the early hours of Saturday and reported that the invaders took advantage of the remote location of the village to perpetrate their evil act.
Rufa’i identified lack of access road to some villages as one of the major challenges faced by security agencies in the state, saying that it frustrated a swift response to the incident.
He said that the command’s tactical team had been mobilised to rescue the victims, insisting that the security agencies were currently on top of the situation.
Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima had held a security meeting with stakeholders in Kaduna, North West Nigeria where he reported that President Bola Tinubu had ordered the entire security architecture in the country to rescue the abducted Kaduna school children.
Shettima, who was with Goveror Uba Sani of Kaduna state on Saturday said that President Tinubu was personally pained by the unfortunate incident and gave assurance that the President was equal to the task of securing the country.
“I am here at the behest of President Bola Tinubu to empathise, in solidarity with the government and people of Kaduna State, over the sad incident of the kidnapping of our school children.
“The President was personally pained by what happened and he has instructed the security agencies to leave no stone unturned until we return our children to their parents.
“He is in regular contact with the governor.
To date, he has spoken with the governor four times and with me three times, asking if the children have been rescued.
“On behalf of my principal, President Bola Tinubu, please accept our sympathy over the travails that have befallen our people.
“Be rest assured that the President is equal to the task, the very essence of the existence of government is to secure the lives and properties of the citizenry.
“I appeal to the media to be very selective in their choice of reporting the incident, in the interest of the children that are affected.”
He, however, commended the media and solicited their continued support.
“Our friends from the media, we have come a long way and we will go a long way with you.
“You are our friends, you are our contemporaries, you are our brothers,” Shettima said.
Earlier, Gov. Sani said that President Tinubu, Vice-President Shettima and the security agencies had been working closely with the Kaduna State Government since the incident happened.
According to him, the state government is also working with the affected community, the leadership of Chikun Local Government, as well as relevant security agencies to ensure that all the children return home safely.
“I will like to thank the Vice-President for visiting us, to commiserate with the people and Government of Kaduna over the unfortunate incident.
“I am happy that since the incident happened, President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima as well as the security agencies in the country have been working closely with us to ensure the safe return of the children.
“ I will like to caution the media to be very careful in the way they make their own reports because, at this critical time, we have to avoid politicising this very unfortunate incident.
“What is important to us is the safe return of the children and, of course, we cannot allow anybody to jeopardise the safety of the kidnapped children,” Sani said.
