Hope rises for abducted Katsina pupils

By Rotimi Fadeyi & Saka Bolaji

Governor Aminu Masari has said that kidnappers of pupils of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara have made contact with the Katsina State government.

The governor said this when he briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the incident with the assurance that the pupils would be rescued unharmed.

However, in another incident in Niger State, unknown gunmen again struck at Rafi Local Government Area, with an estimated 19 persons were allegedly abducted.

The incident took place at Ogu and Tegina communities all in Rafi Local Government Area of the state.

Ogu is a settlement close to Wayam, about two kilometres away from Kagara, headquarters of Rafi Local Government Area.

Masari’s disclosure on the status of the kidnapped pupils was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

“We are making progress and the outlook is positive,’’ the Governor told newsmen after an hour meeting with the President” The Governor, who was accompanied by the Deputy Governor of the state, Manir Yakubu, said the kidnappers had made contact and discussions were already on pertaining to safety and return to their homes. Governor Masari also noted that security agencies had located the position of the children.

The Governor said the President was fully committed to the rescue of the school children, adding that it was only appropriate to visit the President and give him more details of rescue efforts.

It would be recalled that students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, were kidnapped on Friday night. Masari during the weekend disclosed that a total of 333 pupils are still missing out of a population of 839.

He said that “it (school) has a population of 839 and so far, we have yet to account for 333 students.

And we are still counting because more are coming out from the forest and we are calling through the numbers of those parents who have phone numbers to find out whether or not their children have gone back home.

“Because we have discovered that that there are so many local governments that the children have gone back, but based on available record, we are still searching for 333 students either in the forest or through their parents to ascertain the actual number that have been kidnapped.

“The children so far kidnapped cut across the state because the boarding school houses all children from all parts of the state and even some from outside the state.”

The state government has already shut down all schools in the state.

The Daily Times reports that a senior aide to the Rafi Local Government Area chairman, who did not want his identity revealed, confirmed the kidnapping of the 19 persons in Niger State to our correspondent via a telephone conversation.

He however, could not give more details on the attacks and had to place telephone call to a resident in the affected community for more information.

In one of the phone recordings sent by the aide, in which he was heard conversing with one Kamal Mamman Wayam from Ogu community, it was learnt that the attackers stormed Ogu on Sunday morning and started shooting sporadically into the air.

According to Wayam, “the gunmen in their large numbers arrived Ogu on motorcycles.

Before we knew what was happening, they started shooting into the air.

“They ransacked people’s houses, and whatever valuables they could lay their hands on, they carted away. They also abducted six persons from Ogu.

Four of the persons abducted were members of one household, while the other two were visitors to the community.”

The attack on Tegina was said to have happened at about 12:30 a.m of Monday. A resident of the community, Sani Gamachindo, whose phone conversation with our source was recorded, said that 13 persons were abducted.

“The gunmen entered the room of my daughter that night. But, she hid herself under the bed, while her husband went up the ceiling.

“When the gunmen entered their room, they spent like 30 minutes and ate almost all the food in the kitchen. Thank God, they were not abducted. But, 13 other persons were kidnapped,” Gamachindo explained.

The latest attacks in Rafi Local Government is coming barely four days after gunmen abducted a youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the district head of Gunna and the two children of two health workers in Garin Gabbas and Yakila communities in the same local government.

Last week Friday, the bandits had also blocked the major road between Zungeru and Tegina for hours, shooting sporadically and causing a heavy gridlock.

When contacted, the image -maker of the state police command, Wasiu Abiodun said he would get back to our reporter on the matter, but was yet to do so as at the time of filing the report.

Meanwhile, a Pastor with the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has been killed by gunmen in Chukuba, Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.

The clergyman identified as Pastor Jeremiah Ibrahim, was serving with ECWA Gospel Kubwa, Kuta in Shiroro Local Government.

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According to a senior official of ECWA Goodnews Church, Minna, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, Pastor Ibrahim had gone to his farm in Chukuba and decided to visit a colleague who was the resident pastor of Chukuba when he was attacked and killed.

“It’s quite unfortunate because the assassination of Pastor Jeremiah Ibrahim is coming barely two weeks after six of our missionaries along with the wife to one of them were abducted,” he added.

He said the deceased had since been buried.