Table of Contents
There is heightened apprehension in Kaduna State following the kidnap of over 280 pupils and teachers of LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Chikun local government area.
The victims, who also include students of Government Secondary School, Kuriga, were abducted yesterday morning by suspected bandits.
Join our Telegram Channel for Updates
The incident, according to sources, occurred at about 8 am within the school premises. The head teacher of the school and some other staff members were reportedly among the victims abducted.
Figures released by one of the teachers, who escaped the attack, showed that 187 students of the secondary school and 125 pupils of the primary school in the same area were kidnapped from the school.
The teacher said, “At GSS Kuriga, 187 students are at present missing. In the primary school, 125 pupils were initially missing, but 25 of them escaped and returned home.”
A resident, Shitu, confirmed the incident, saying most of the pupils ran out of their classes when they sighted the bandits at the school premises. Another resident, Lawal Kuriga, also told journalists that the abducted victims were marched into the forest.
Responding to the incident, the senator that represented Kaduna Central in the 8th National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, on his official Twitter handle, now X, said the bandits invaded LEA Primary School, Kuriga town and kidnapped 232 pupils. The senator also recalled that a school principal, Idris Sufyan, from the same town, was killed, and his wife kidnapped over a month ago.
Senator Sani tweeted on his social media account: “It’s tragic to hear that 232 students have just been kidnapped in Kuriga village, Chikun LG in Kaduna State. It’s the same village where a school principal, Idris Sufyan was killed and his wife kidnapped over a month ago. However, I’m optimistic their freedom will be secured.
One of the teachers of Government Secondary School, Kuriga, Sani Abdullahi has narrated how bandits invaded the joint secondary and primary and whisked away about 280 pupils and teachers. He told the story when the state governor, Uba Sani, led senior government officials and security top brass to the scene of the kidnap attack yesterday evening.
The teacher said: “I resumed school today (yesterday) at exactly 7:47 am. I entered the acting principal’s office and signed. All of a sudden, the acting principal asked me to look at my back and when I turned, we discovered that bandits had 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 and the pupils/students 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 KADVS followed the bandits, but the vigilantes did not succeed; in fact, the bandits killed one of the vigilantes. We just buried him.
“It was when we came back from that pursuit that we briefed the village head and we started making efforts to know the actual number of pupils and teachers taken away by the bandits. “At GSS Kuriga, 187 students are at present missing. In the primary school, 125 pupils were initially missing, but 25 of them escaped and retired home,” he said.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has stated that he has the assurance of national security adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu and other security agencies that the kidnapped pupils and students would be brought back safely.
Governor Sani, who rushed to the Kuriga community yesterday evening to assess the situation, met with the parents of the kidnapped pupils. Sani in a brief interview said: “We sat down with parents of the school children that were kidnapped. Just an hour ago, I discussed it with the national security adviser and he assured me. I also spoke with the GOC I Division and he assured me; the commissioner of police and all security agencies are working together to bring them back. All of them will come back by the grace of God,” he said.
Sani said, ”In my capacity as your elected Governor, I am assuring you that, by the grace of God, all the children will 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.
“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
