The Nigerian Police Force has confirmed another case of school kidnappings in Northern Nigeria, as 73 students of the Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, Maradun Local Government Area (LGA), were confirmed kidnapped by armed men.
This was disclosed by SP Muhammed Shehu, the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), on Wednesday in a statement in Gusau, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Shehu said, “The Zamfara State Police Command wishes to confirm the abduction of 73 Students of Government Day Secondary school, Kaya, in Maradun LGA.
“The abduction followed the invasion of the school by a large number of armed bandits on Wednesday at exactly 1122 hrs.”
He added that the State Commissioner of Police, Ayuba N Elkanah, has launched a search and rescue mission for the students and will collaborate with the army to find the missing students, as the military has boosted operations in the community,
“Further development will be made known to members of the public,” he added.
What you should know
- Over 800 students have been kidnapped in multiple incidents since December 2020, as it has become a “ lucrative” venture by bandits to raise money for weapons and many others.
- In March 2021, Nairametrics reported that President Buhari stated that the Federal Government is working hard to bring an end to the recent incident of mass school kidnappings in Northwestern Nigeria and urged that the Military and the Police will continue to go after kidnappers.
- According to a report by SBM Intelligence, a total number of 2,371 persons were kidnapped and the sum of N10 billion demanded in ransom in Nigeria in the first half of 2021. The report stated that Niger State saw the most attempts at kidnap (28), the highest number of kidnap victims (643), and the greatest number of people killed in attempts (58), Katsina, and Kaduna also followed with having the most reported cases.
