By Donatus Anichukwueze

A teacher in one of the schools attacked in Kaduna State, Sani Abdullahi, has disclosed that a total of 287 students were abducted during the attack on Thursday.

Narrating the incident, Abdullahi who said he was lucky to escape from the bush, noted that out of the 287, 100 students were abducted from the primary school while 187 were abducted from the secondary school. Both schools are with the same premises.

“I resumed to the school today at exactly 7.47 a.m. I entered the Acting Principal’s office and signed. All of a sudden the Acting Principal asked me to look behind me 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 were about 700 were following us. So when we entered the bush, I was lucky to escape alongside many other people,” Abdullahi said.

“So, I returned to the village and reported what happened to the community. So, immediately our vigilante and personnel of KADVS followed the bandits, but the vigilante did not succeed. In fact, the bandits killed one of the vigilantes, we just buried him.

“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 retired home.”

During a visit to the community where the incident happened on Thursday, Governor Uba Sani assured the people of the safe and timely return of the kidnapped children, stating that security agencies are working round the clock to ensure their release.

“With pain in my heart, I visited Kuriga, Chikun Local Government, where bandits kidnapped primary and secondary school pupils and students, to commiserate with members of the community and assure them that all steps are been taken to ensure the safe return of the pupils and students,” he wrote on his X account.

He also reiterated his administration’s commitment to tackle insecurity in Kaduna State.

“I have briefed Mr. President and the National Security Adviser on the Kuriga situation. I received strong assurances from them that all measures are been taken to bring back the pupils and students,” Governor Sani 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.”

Already, a manhunt of the bandits has commenced with troops deployed to Kuriga and other surrounding areas to rescue the kidnapped children.

Kuriga, a sleepy community, is about a two-and-a-half-hour journey from the Kaduna State capital. The community shares a boundary with Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, one of the hotbeds of banditry in the state.