Buhari expresses joy over release of abducted Zamfara school girls
ROTIMI FADEYI, ABUJA
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed “overwhelming joy” over the release of abducted female students in Zamfara State.
In a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu while reacting to the development President said “I join the families and people of Zamfara State in welcoming and celebrating the release of these traumatized female students.”
Buhari said he was excited that their ordeal came to a happy end without any incident, adding that “being held in captivity is an agonizing experience not only for the victims but also their families and all of us.”
However, while celebrating the release of the students, the President called for greater vigilance by the people so that human intelligence could be collected early enough to nip the bandits’ plans in the bud.
He warned that the time has come to reverse, completely, the grim and heartbreaking incidents of kidnapping. “Ransom payments will continue to prosper kidnapping,” he warned while urging the Police and the Military to go after these kidnappers and bring them to justice.
The 317 schoolgirls were kidnapped last Friday from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Talata Marafa local government area of Zamfara state.
The abduction in Zamfara occurred about two weeks after 42 students and staff members were also abducted by kidnappers from Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State. They were, however, released Saturday morning.
Yesterday, the Aviation Minister and a leader of the federal government delegation sent to sympathize with the people and government of Zamfara State over the kidnapped Jangebe schoolgirls, Hadi Sirika, briefed President Buhari on the outcome of their mission to the state.
Speaking to State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with the president, Sirius expressed optimism that the abducted female students of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, would soon be freed from their abductors.
He said the government and people of Zamfara State have expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the federal government toward addressing the menace of banditry and kidnapping in the state.
