Terrorists on the loose across the country
Kidnappers have freed the 187 students of Government Secondary School Kuriga and over 100 of its primary school counterpart, aged between 8 and 15, who they abducted from their school about two weeks ago.
The children were whisked away in what has been described as the nation’s largest mass kidnapping in recent years, when the gunmen on motorcycles rode through their school, taking them away in an incident that sparked global outrage.
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, who announced this in a statement in the state capital, Kaduna on Sunday morning, thanked President Bola Tinubu, government officials and security agencies for their role in the students’ freedom.
“In the name of Allah the Beneficient, the Most Merciful, I wish to announce that our Kuriga school children have been released.
“While the school children were in captivity, I spoke with Mr. President several times.
“He shared our pains, comforted us and worked round the clock with us to ensure the safe return of the children,” Sani said.
It would be recalled that the federal government, nongovernmental organizations, as well as the UN children’s welfare agency UNICEF, among others had vehemently expressed dismay over the incident.
The Kuriga abduction was reminiscent of the April 2014 seizure of over 200 students from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
It is, however, unclear if the victims were rescued following the payment of any ransom.
Periscope International reports that the spike in kidnappings across the country has assumed an alarming, unprecedented scale and has hit a breaking point with a hapless government seemingly having no clue on how to curb the national malady now and in the near future.