A teacher in Government Secondary School, Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Sani Abdullahi, has recounted how bandits stormed the school in the early hours of Thursday and kidnapped 312 students.
The former representative of Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, had put the number of abductees at 232.
However, speaking when the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, visited the school on Thursday evening, Abdullahi said the armed kidnappers took with them 312 students, but 25 escaped, leaving 287 in their den.
He said he also escaped as he was taken by the abductors.
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He told Governor Sani: “I resumed school today 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 they were many and the pupils, who are about 700, were following us.
“So, when we entered the bush, I was lucky to escape alongside many others.
“I returned to the village and reported what happened to the community.
“So, immediately our vigilante and personnel of KADVIS followed the bandits, but the vigilante did not succeed.
“In fact, the bandits killed one of the vigilantes.
“We just buried him a short while ago.
“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 presently missing.
“In the primary school, 125 pupils were initially missing, but 25 of them escaped and returned home.”
Speaking, Governor Sani pledged to get back all the students abducted by the bandits.
The governor told the community members that he had received assurances of support from President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to get the students back home safely.
He urged the community members not to despair, but work with the government to secure the release of the children and reinforce security there.
Sani particularly appealed to parents of the abducted children to exercise patience, assuring them that the government would not let them down.
The governor said that he was pained over the incident and would not relent in getting the primary and secondary school pupils and students reunited with their parents.
Sani was briefed by the District Head, Alhaji Lawal Abdullahi, on the incident at LEA Primary and Secondary School in Kuriga, where a valiant vigilante member who confronted the bandits lost his life.
He said that both the President and NSA have given “strong assurances” that all measures are being taken to bring back the pupils and students.
The Governor said: “A Security Committee will be established in Kuriga, with membership drawn from key stakeholders in Kuriga Community, Security Agencies and the State Government.
“I will make a strong case to the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff for the establishment of a Military Base in Kuriga to strengthen security in the area.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the governor in a statement later said the Kuriga incident has reinforced the need for state police.
Sani said: “The unfortunate Kuriga incident reinforces our positions in support of the establishment of State Police.
“With State Police, there will be a standing Police Force in Kuriga drawn from members of the community who understand the terrain, the people and the issues at play.
“They can gather intelligence with ease.
“They will also be constitutionally empowered to bear arms, including sophisticated ones.
“This is important because vigilante groups are not allowed to carry arms.
“They are always at the mercy of these criminal elements who have scant regard for human life.”
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