Abducted school boys released unconditionally, says Fed Govt

By Tunde Opalana

Defence Headquarters says troops of ‘Operation Hadarin Daji’ successfully rescued all 344 abducted pupils of Government Science Secondary School Kankara, Katsina State on Thursday following credible intelligence.

Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said the rescue was in keeping to the promise by the military to ensure the safe return of all abducted pupils.

According to him, they were rescued by troops with high degree of professionalism to ensure their safety.

“The Military High Command commends troops of Operation Hadarin Daji including all security agencies for their dexterity.

“The members of general public who volunteered information are also appreciated,” he said.

The pupils were rescued in Zamfara State before being transported to Katsina where they were handed over to Governor Aminu Masari on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the rescued boys not to be distracted from their studies following their experiences with bandits.

The president made the call when he addressed them at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Katsina, on Friday.

The president, who narrated how he went through some difficulties early in life, said the situation did stop him from accomplishing his missions.

He said: ”You students are very lucky. Concentrate on your studies, don’t allow your terrible experiences in the hands of those heartless bandits distract you from your studies. ”Put behind all the sufferings and concentrate on your studies.”

The Federal Government will continue to strengthen security around all schools across the country.”

The president said the abduction was a deliberate attempt to test the will of his administration, pledging that government would continue to ensure the safety of lives and property of all citizens.

He also challenged security officials to always have the fear God while carrying out their responsibility of protecting citizens.

Buhari thanked Masari for his efforts in ensuring the successful release of the pupils. Masari had earlier presented the pupils to the president.

He also thanked the president for the roles he played in the rescue.

According to him, there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the incident.

Also, the Federal Government has said that the 344 boys were released unconditionally by their abductors.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this at a media briefing on Friday in Abuja, said no money exchanged hands in the course of negotiation for the release of the boys.

He claimed that the release was without exchange of suspected or convicted bandits in the custody of the government.

Mohammed said the boys were released unharmed and would undergo necessary medical tests before joining their families.

The minister expressed government’s gratitude to the security and intelligence agencies for the feat.

He equally thanked the government of Katsina and Zamfara States as well as Nigerians and friends of the country for their concerns, prayers and support.

Mohammed gave an assurance that the Buhari administration would do everything possible to prevent a recurrence of abductions in schools.

He also said the administration would not relent until all those still missing in Chibok and Dapchi were reunited with their families.

The minister however, appealed to those quick to politicise the issue of security to desist. “The reaction in certain quarters to the Kankara incident was shameful.

Some Nigerians went as far as denigrating their government and country in the most uncouth and irresponsible manner.

“They simply threw decorum to the wind and allowed their emotions to take a better part of them. When disasters and tragedies strike, people come together.

We hope the naysayers have learnt their lessons.

“And we hope those who have started trading and politicking with the hashtag ‘BringBackOurBoys’ can now go home as our boys have been brought back, even before their dubious campaign could take off,” he said.

The minister also assured Nigerians that the security challenges facing the nation were surmountable.

In his reaction to the release of the students, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, expressed delight in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Ola Awoniyi in Abuja on Friday.

He congratulated the parents over the safe return of their children. “The past few days have been harrowing for the parents of the students, their teachers and all of us as a nation.

“The nightmare sadly reminds us of our country’s continued vulnerability to heartless crimes such as the kidnap of hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014 and the Dapchi incident of 2018. ”

The blemish of those earlier incidents is still on us as a country and we had hoped that the outrage that they sparked would mean such never happened again in Nigeria.

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“This sad recurrence is, therefore, enough warning to us as a nation to deploy all the resources required for the security of our educational institutions, and indeed of everywhere else where our children gather, to protect them against cowardly attacks by primitive terrorists.

“I commend the prompt intervention and productive engagement of President Muhammadu Buhari, Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina state and others which resulted in the release of the children,” Lawan added.