Abuja: At least 300 children who were abducted from school two weeks ago in Kaduna state in northwest Nigeria have been released. The state governor gave this information on Sunday. Kudna Governor Uba Sani did not give details regarding the release of 287 students who were abducted on March 7 from Kuriga town in a remote area of the province. In a statement, he thanked Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for securing the safe release of the abducted school students.
The President had given instructions to the agencies
After the children were abducted from school, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu directed security and intelligence agencies to “immediately rescue the victims and ensure that the perpetrators of these despicable acts are brought to justice to the fullest extent possible.” “I have received information from security chiefs on the two incidents in Borno and Kaduna and I am confident that the victims will be rescued,” he wrote on social media platform X.
There is a law against ransom
There are several gangs operating in Nigeria that target communities, loot villages and carry out mass kidnappings for ransom in North West and North Central Nigeria. Relatives of the abducted children had said the kidnappers had demanded ransom for the students’ return, but President Tinubu said he had ordered security forces not to pay. Kidnapping victims in Nigeria are often released after negotiations with authorities, although a 2022 law bans handing over money to kidnappers and authorities refuse to pay ransom.
Kidnapping of children has happened before too
Kidnapping of children from schools has been common in northern Nigeria since 2014 and is a serious issue of concern. Islamic extremists abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from Chikbok village in the state in 2014. Now, after a decade, about 1400 students have been kidnapped from different schools, many of them including 100 Chibok girls are still being held hostage. (AP)
Also read:
Pakistan, facing economic crisis, is considering restoring trade relations with India.
After Gaza, Israel is now planning to attack this city, UN Secretary General said, ‘We are seeing despair’
Latest World News