Outrage as bandits kidnap 280 pupils from Kaduna schools

Over 280 pupils and teachers of Government Secondary School and LEA primary school at Kuriga, Kaduna State were abducted by bandits on Thursday, triggering national outrage.

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Amnesty International, the Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, and the House of Representatives condemned the attack and asked the government to rescue the victims immediately

The bandits reportedly invaded the Kuriga area of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday, shooting at their victims before taking away at least 280 of the pupils and teachers from both schools.

The According reports that the secondary school was relocated to the primary school on account of the insecurity in the council.

The incident occurred barely 24 hours after insurgents abducted 200 internally displaced women in Borno State.

The women were kidnapped in Ngala, the headquarters of Gambarou Ngala in Borno State while fetching firewood in the bush.

Penultimate Thursday, bandits invaded the Gonin-Gora in the same Chikun LGA, prompting residents to barricade the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway in protest against the abduction of an unspecified number of people in the area.

The kidnappers on Wednesday night through the early hours of Thursday had attacked the Kuriga community, kidnapping unspecified numbers of the residents.

A teacher in Government Secondary School Kuriga, Sani Abdullahi, narrated how the attack took place, adding that about 280 pupils and teachers were whisked away by the hoodlums.

This was just as the state Governor, Senator Uba Sani led senior government officials and heads of security agencies in the state to the scene of the attack on Thursday evening.

The governor assured the community that those abducted by the bloodthirsty bandits would return unhurt.

He said he had spoken to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu on the matter and that security operatives had swung into action in search of the abducted pupils.

Narrating his ordeal during the governor’s visit, Abdullahi said, “I resumed school today (Thursday) at exactly 7:47am. 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 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 vigilante and personnel of KADVS (Kaduna State Vigilante Service) followed the bandits, but the vigilante did not succeed the bandits killed one of the vigilantes; we just buried him a short while ago.’’

The teacher explained that the vigilantes were making efforts to identify those kidnapped by the bandits.

“It was when we came back from that pursuit that we briefed the village head and we started making efforts to know the number of pupils and teachers taken away by the bandits.

“At GSS Kuriga, 187 students are presently missing. In the primary school, 125 pupils were initially missing, but, 25 of them escaped and retired home,” he recounted.

According to him, “over 280 pupils and teachers were taken away.’’

It was also gathered that the head teacher of the school as well as some other staff members were among those abducted by the hoodlums.

It was learnt that the incident happened around 8am shortly after morning assembly.

“Shortly after the assembly, the pupils in their hundreds ran out of their classes after sighting the hoodlums in large numbers on the school premises. They ran in different directions,” a resident, Adamu Shehu, told one of our correspondents on the telephone.

Also, speaking, another resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity, explained that the bandits, who wielded dangerous weapons, took their victims into the forest.

A pupil simply identified as Ahmed who sustained gunshot wounds and was rushed to the Birnin-Gwari General Hospital was reported dead.

He was said to have died while receiving treatment at the hospital.

It was gathered that a military formation is close to where the incident occurred at Kuriga 1 near the troubled Birnin-Gwari but in Chikun LGA.

Gov assures residents

Addressing the community members during his visit to the scene of the attack, the governor said his government would ensure that the abducted pupils returned unhurt.

He 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, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and we are making efforts, the security forces have swung into action, and by God’s grace, we will rescue the children.’’

But the JNI led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abukakar lll, described the abduction as unfortunate.

The JNI Secretary-General, Prof Khalid Abukakar-Aliyu, said the abduction appeared to be an attempt by non-state actors to undermine the efforts of the government to tackle insecurity in the country.

He urged the security agencies to rise to the occasion by using technology in the fight against insurgents and kidnappers.

Reacting to the tragedy, Amnesty International Nigeria expressed their grief in an X post, stating that no child should have to choose between their education and their life while urging the government to arrest the perpetrators.

“Amnesty International condemns the appalling abduction of 200 primary and secondary school students and their teachers in #Kuriga Kaduna state. We are calling on the Nigerian authorities to safely rescue the students and hold the suspected perpetrators.’’

The National President of the Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, said, “I show my concern as a father and I extend my sympathy to the parents of the children.

“As a parent, I want the government of Kaduna, the Federal Government, and the local government area to come together to make sure these innocent children are safe, rescued, and returned to their parents.

“The Governor of Kaduna should be held responsible and make sure these children are rescued. I want to also call on all the security personnel to make sure these children are rescued.”

NUT laments

Also speaking, the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, described the incident as terrible.

He added, “This is terrible. How did the hoodlums kidnap 200 children? It is huge. I sympathise with the parents and guardians because a thing like this can cause heart attack, high blood pressure, and others.

“We have often asked the government to declare a state of emergency in our schools as far as security is concerned. I will advise that we invest in community policing as it is done in developed nations.

“This is because if we have community policing, they will be aware of such a thing as this and raise alarm. How did they come in to take 200 children? Who is playing the ostrich?”

He added that if such kidnapping continued in schools, NUT would have to get involved and look at the situation.

He wondered how teachers who earned meagre salaries would raise the ransom for their abducted wards.

“We are not happy. The government should raise and use all means available to stop these individuals. People should always say something too, when they notice strange things in the community,” he admonished.

Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th National Assembly, expressed concern over the latest incident.

He said no fewer than 232 were abducted by the hoodlums.

According to him, Kuriga was the same village where a school principal, Idris Sufyan, was killed and his wife kidnapped over a month ago.

Sani who tweeted on his X account said, “It’s tragic to hear that 232 students have just been kidnapped in Kuriga village, Chikun Local Government 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.”

A lawyer, Bulama Bukarti, condemned the federal and state governments for not responding to the tragedy.

He said, “Several credible sources report that almost 200 primary and secondary school students have been abducted by bandit terrorists from their school in Kuriga village of Kaduna State.

“This comes less than a week after the kidnapping of over 200 IDPs by Boko Haram in an IDP camp in Borno State. Days after the Borno incident, both the federal and Borno state governments have remained silent.

The Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbase, said “All hands are on deck to make every part of the country safe for Nigerians to live and do business.’’

He noted, “This attack is quite unfortunate, although the House has not been officially informed, if that is what happened, the leadership of the parliament is going to take it up to ensure that these children that are kidnapped can go back to their families as quickly as possible.”

The lawmaker representing Benue State noted that the House has been working in close collaboration with security agencies, saying, “The approach we have taken as a parliament is to collaborate, partner and work silently with the securities agencies to ensure that they deliver maximally.’’

“We have interacted with the service chiefs, particularly the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, and they told us what they are doing. But we know very well that security is not something that you just get involved in and get the fastest result in the shortest period.”

That said, Agbese expressed the readiness of the parliament to continuously work on measures to empower security agencies to make Nigeria safe for all.

Experts lament

A security expert, Akin Adeyi, said the recurrence of the incident was due to the failure of the government to take decisive action on past kidnap incidents related to the abduction of school children.

While describing the development as unfortunate, Adeyi said the essence of punishing offenders was to serve as deterrence to others.

He said, “The purpose of investigation and justice is to prevent recurrence of that particular incident. If certain school students were kidnapped many years ago and nothing is done, it will continue to reoccur.

“When you punish a particular suspect in a case of murder, it is not because of the suspect but because you are making a deterrence to those who want to commit the same offence.

“But when there is no serious action, others will do the same thing. Failure to take action will continue to serve as a measurement of your seriousness as a people, as a country and as an organization.’’

He listed several cases of unresolved school abductions, accusing the authorities of being careless.

The security analyst stated, “This is where we are now. We have had the Chibok girls, the Dapchi and so many cases unresolved. It is quite unfortunate that we have found ourselves in this similar situation again, now especially that the country is the way it is where the economy is not favourable and people take to crime to survive.

“ We are so careless that we leave our rears unguided. We did not resolve the earlier cases, that is why we are having this one.’’

A security expert, Jackson Ojo, blamed the government for the kidnap of school children, particularly in the North-West, and urged the government to promptly rescue the children without payment of any ransom by the parents of the children.

“This thing is not new to the system. It has been a menace, it is an abnormality that has been introduced to the system. The issue of kidnapping children in the North, particularly the North-West, I think it has been on the ground over the years.

“So, I blame it on the government and all the security forces put together. I think the next move now is to make sure that they rescue those children without paying any ransom,” he stated.

A former Inspector-General of Police, Ali Amodu, said there was no straightforward solution to the spate of kidnap of school children, noting, however, that the efforts of the government and law enforcement agencies must be consistent.

“You know the primary objective of what the kidnappers do is they want money. They want the parents to come and pay. It didn’t start during the life of this administration. It’s not going to be an easy task, but whatever efforts the government or law enforcement is making, it has to be consistent; we must not give up. But nobody can say this is the solution.”

• Additional reports: Grace Edema, Dirisu Yakubu Nathaniel Shaibu and Tope Aina