No fewer than over 200 pupils were, yesterday morning, kidnapped by bandits who invaded the LEA Primary School, Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
It was gathered that the Head Teacher of the school as well as other staff were among those abducted by the bandits who stormed the community at about 8am yesterday.
Though details of the incident were sketchy at the time of filing this report, the Senator who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th National Assembly, Shehu Sani, on his official Twitter handle, X, said, “bandits invaded LEA Primary School, Kuriga town and kidnapped 232 pupils”.
The senator also recalled that about a month ago, a school principal, Idris Sufyan, from the same town, was killed and his wife kidnapped.
Senator Sani tweeted: “It’s tragic to hear that 232 students have just been kidnapped in Kuriga village, Chikun Local Government in Kaduna State. It’s the same village where a school principal, Idris Sufyan, was killed and his wife kidnapped over a month ago. However, I’m optimistic their freedom will be secured”.
A source also confirmed the latest incident, saying most of the pupils, out of fear, ran out of their respective classrooms when they sighted the bandits at the school premises, adding that there was a great confusion as the bandits were shooting sporadically into the air. Additional sources said the abducted pupils were marched into the surrounding forest.
Spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mansir Hassan, who confirmed the incident, said a police tactical team had been deployed to go after the criminals and rescue the victims.
“I am attending a security meeting, but a police tactical team has been deployed to go after the criminals by combing the bushes to rescue the victims. This is all I can say for now,” Hassan said.
Many of the pupils were said to have run out of their classrooms upon sighting the bandits in the school premises. The bandits reportedly took the kidnapped pupils and staff into the bush while shooting indiscriminately. However, Daily Sun gathered that as of yesterday evening, Governor Uba Sani was said to have driven in a tight security convoy to the affected town. The governor and his security entourage were yet to return to the state capital at the time of filing this report.
A week ago, bandits invaded the Gonin-Gora community in the same Chikun LGA, forcing residents to barricade the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway, protesting the abduction of an unspecified number of people in the area.
