Abductors of Katsina students in talks with Nigerian govt

By EMMANUEL EGOBIAMBU 

Governor Bello Masari of Katsina State on Monday told President Muhammadu Buhari that the abductors of students in Kankara Local Government Area of the state have contacted them.

“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,” the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Garba Shehu said in a statement after Masari’s visit to Buhari in Daura.

He explained that security agencies had located the position of the children and expressed optimism that based on efforts made so far, “the outlook is positive.”

Governor Masari who was accompanied to the visit by his deputy, Manir Yakubu, noted that President Buhari was committed to the rescue of the schoolchildren.

The 70-year-old former Speaker of the House of Representatives stated that it was only appropriate to visit the president and give him more details of rescue efforts.

—-‘Still Counting’—-

On Friday evening, gunmen attacked Government Science Secondary School in the Kankara council area of the north-west state, kidnapping scores of students.

Police authorities said they received a report of the attack around 11:30 pm and were told the bandits were armed with AK-47 rifles.

Initially, there were conflicting figures as to the number of students abducted during the attack but two days after the incident – Sunday – Governor Masari confirmed that three hundred and three schoolchildren were missing from the school.

“We are still counting because more are coming out from the forest and we are calling through the numbers those parents that have phone numbers to find out whether or not their children have gone back home,” he said when he received a federal government delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno.

The attack prompted the Katsina State Government to order the closure of all boarding schools in the state, a move aimed at forestalling similar occurrence. (Channels TV)