Two weeks since armed bandits invaded the LEA Primary School and the Government Secondary School in Kuriga, Chikun local government area of Kaduna State, on March 7, kidnapping hundreds of learners, including staff members, the abducted captives are yet to return.
Despite assurances from President Bola Tinubu and the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, to secure the safe release of the captives, nothing has yet been heard of their freedom.
The abductees, totalling 287, include some pupils and secondary school students and staff, whose number remains undisclosed.
According to reports, the secondary school was relocated to the primary school because of insecurity. It was also gathered that the school’s head teacher and some other staff were among those abducted by the hoodlums.
In his address last Thursday, during his visit to the scene in the company of some senior government officials and heads of the state security agencies, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, stated that the schoolchildren would regain their freedom unhurt.
“In my capacity as your elected governor, I am assuring you that by the grace of God, all the children will return unhurt”, he had stated.
However, the kidnap has drawn criticism from concerned individuals, organisations, parents, and well-meaning Nigerians.
The Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Amnesty International, (JNI), the Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, and the House of Representatives have condemned the abduction in different statements.
However, five days after the abduction, the bandits, on Tuesday, March 12, demanded a ransom of N1 billion. They also gave a 20-day deadline that would elapse on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
“They made a total of N1bn ransom demand for all the pupils, students, and staff of the school. They gave an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days, effective from the date of the kidnap (March 7). They said they would kill all the students and the staff if the ransom demand is not met,” Reuters quoted a community leader, Jubril Aminu, who acted as a spokesman for the families of the hostages.
The councillor representing Kuriga Ward in the Chikun Local Government, Idris Ibrahim, also confirmed the ransom demand to Reuters.
Recall that in an issued statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the Kaduna State Governor, Muhammad Shehu, said the governor was committed to rescuing the children.
However, the Federal Government on Wednesday said it would not pay “a dime” as ransom for the release of the abducted schoolchildren.
“Mr. President reiterated his zero tolerance for the payment of ransom…and Mr. President has also directed that no ransom will be paid by the government to any of these criminal elements,” the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, told State House correspondents at the end of last Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting held at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
