Nigerian boarding school confirms 121 students held by gunmen
Shoes of abducted boarding school students lie on the floor after 140 boarding students of Bethel Baptist School were kidnapped by gunmen in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, on July 5, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Kidnapping for ransom has become common in Kaduna and many other states despite the efforts of security agencies.
- No fewer than 1,680 students have been seized by marauding gunmen in the past five months.
Lagos
Bethel Baptist Church High School, Maramara in Kaduna state, Northwest Nigeria, has confirmed that 121 students were abducted by bandits on Monday as angry parents chased away government officials assessing the situation.
The school’s owner, Rev Yahaya Adamu Jangado, said the gunmen had called to inform the school that the students were in good condition.
Rev Jangado reported that he also spoke with some of the abducted students and they confirmed the number given by the bandits.
“Today (Tuesday) by the grace of God we had a call from the bandits and they assured us that our children are well and doing okay. In fact, we had the privilege of speaking with a few of them,” he said.
“They counted themselves in the jungle and they gave us information that they are 121 and when we put the number together with what we have recovered, we discovered that the number is exactly the same as the number of students we have in the hostel.”
The school's management thanked parents for their patience and sought their support.
Parents of abducted students stand on Kachia Road that leads to Bethel Baptist School after boarding students were abducted by gunmen in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, on July 5, 2021.
He said they had briefed the Kaduna state government on the matter and were assured that everything possible would be done to return the students.
State officials rebuffed
Several bandits invaded the boarding school at 1am on June 5 and abducted the students, killing two soldiers in an exchange of gunfire.
Samuel Aruwan, commissioner for internal security and home affairs, and his entourage got more than they bargained for when their motorcade was blocked by the abducted students’ parents.
The delegation came to assess the situation and talk to the parents, but they were rebuffed with repeated chants of, “Go back! Go back!”
The commissioner’s security tried to calm the protesters but they stood their ground and the officials had to retreat.
The Monday incident came less than 24 hours after a similar incident involving the abduction of babies, nurses and security guards from the residential quarters of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Centre in Zaria in the same state.
A joint security team comprising the police, army and others rescued 17 of the students.
The governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, has commended security personnel for their support and expressed his sympathies with the families of those killed by bandits.
In the Zaria incident on July 4, the bandits stormed the area from a nearby forest and engaged police in a gun battle before they escaped with their victims.
Kidnapping for ransom has become common in Kaduna and many other states despite the efforts of security agencies.
No fewer than 1,680 students have been seized by marauding gunmen in the past five months in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states in northwest and northcentral.
Reports show that with the recent abduction, more than 365 students were still being held by gunmen, including the students of an Islamic school abducted in late June in Niger state.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the abductions.
His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told correspondents at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday that Mr Guterres was disturbed by the frequency of “kidnapping for ransom” of children from schools by extremist groups and criminal networks.
The UN underscored the need to bring perpetrators of these grave human rights violations to account and enhance the safety and security of schools and educational facilities.
