Five abducted Zamfara students regain freedom

Bandits have returned five students of Government Day Secondary School Kaya in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara state. At least 73 of the students had been kidnapped on Wednesday, according to the police. Speaking to Channels Television via telephone, a former councilor of Kaya ward, Yahaya Kaya said his younger brother’s daughter was among the students released by the bandits.

According to him, the five students were taken back to their hometown Kaya, around one o’clock on Thursday morning.
It is not yet clear if the bandits are asking for a ransom before the remaining students are released. The abduction of the Kaya students is the latest in a series of mass school kidnappings in the northern region.

On Wednesday, the State Government ordered the immediate closure of primary and secondary schools due to the worsening state of insecurity. Confirming the news, the Zamfara State Police Command described the return of the five students as “unconditional and safe rescue.” The Command also assured residents that the remaining abducted students will safely return to their families.

“It would be recalled that, upon the abduction of 73 Male and Female students, the Zamfara State Police Command in Collaboration with other security agencies and the state government have swung into action by deploying a joint search and rescue team to Kaya and its environ to effectively rescue the abducted students and reunite them with their families,” a statement signed by the Command’s spokesperson, Mohammed Shehu, said.

“The ongoing search and rescue mission is yielding positive result as Five (5) abducted Female students were today rescued. The victims were medically checked at the hospital, debriefed by the Police and reunite the victims with their families.

“The Commissioner of Police CP Ayuba N. Elkana psc + assured the people of the State that, the ongoing search and rescue effort will be sustained, so that the remaining abducted students will be rescued hale and hearty.”