Kuriga school kidnap: Rescued students finally reunite wit dia parents

Rescued Kuriga school students finally reunite wit dia parents

Nigerian pupils wey security pipo rescue from gunmen don reunite wit dia families for north-western town of Kuriga.

Di children bin return to dia homes wit one military convoy.

“We give tanks to God, we dey happy and we say tank you to evri one wey show concern for Nigeria and around di world,” Muhammad Jibrin, di papa of one of di rescued children tok as e receive im son.

Dis dey come four days afta officials tok say 137 pupils dey rescued from one forest about 200 km to di north of Kaduna for neighbouring Zamfara state following 17 days for captivity.

Di pupils, wey dey between di ages of eight and 15 bin dey assembly ground wen dozens of gunmen wey dey on top motorcycles ride through dia school and force dem to march to nearby forests for middle of gunfire.

Kidnap gangs, wey pipo sabi as bandits, don seize thousands of pipo for recent years, especially di north-west.

Six mass abductions dis month don rock parts of northern Nigeria despite one overall fall for di number of dat kain attacks for di past year.

Authorities say dem don rescue all di hostages for at least three of di abductions, including dis one for Kaduna wey be di biggest mass abduction for Nigeria since 2021.

Kaduna State Govnor Uba Sani promise free education through high school to di 137 freed children.

E say dem go renovate di school and di Kuriga community go dey renovated, all under im Uba Sani Foundation.

Oga Sani tok say since di school children don dey rescued di state goment don employ di services of psychologists wey bin take dem “through lot of sessions wit doctors and nurses, counselling and therapy”.

One teacher, Abubakar Issa, wey bin dey kidnapped wit di children, die for captivity, e tok.

E promise to also sponsor di children of di deceased teacher through school and support im family wit about $8,000 financial aid.

'Na 137 Kaduna school children wey enta bandit hands military rescue, one teacher die' - Kaduna goment

Govnor Uba Sani of Kaduna State tok say contrary to reports, na 137 schoolchildren, and no be 287 students bandits bin abduct on 7 March 2024 from Kuriga, Chikun Local Goment Area of di state.

Di govnor make di clarification on Channels Television Sunday Politics.

E tok say all schoolchildren wey di bandits abduct na im di military rescue in collaboration wit local authorities from neighbouring Zamfara State where di kidnappers bin move di hostages to.

Govnor Sani tok say di 287 figure na figments of some pipo imagination.

“I no wan join issues wit anyone in terms of numbers. Wetin dey more important to me na di safe return of di children. Today, I dey happy say dem don come back safely, in high spirits, but dose numbers na just figments of some pipo imagination,” di govnor tok.

One teacher die for captivity

Govnor Sani tok say one teacher wey dem among di pipo wey di bandits kidnap die for captivity sake of health complications wey im develop.

“Na only no return and dat na di teacher. Dat na di fact of di mata, but all of di 137 children don come back safely.. We get di unfortunate incident say di teacher no make am becos im get some complications; im bin sick - dat na di report wey we get from di military and di security agencies but di rest of di children, all of them don come back to us," di govnor tok.

Govnor Sani also tok say Kaduna-based Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, no dey involved for di return of di schoolchildren.

Di cleric bin offer to negotiate wit bandits for di release of di schoolchildren.

Di Nigerian military don release di number of Students of Lea Primary School and Government Secondary School Kuriga, Kaduna State wey dem rescue.

Di Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, tok say dem rescue a total of 137 students.

According to di statement, dem rescue di children for Zamfara State for di early hours of Sunday, through di joint efforts of di military and local authorities.

Di rescued hostages include 76 females and 61 males, wey dey di age of eight and 15.

Di statement say dem go hand ova di rescued students give di Kaduna State Government for further action.

Gunmen bin attack Lea Primary School and Government Secondary School Kuriga for Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State during di morning assembly and kidnap students and pupils, alongside some staff.

Nearly three weeks afta gunmen kidnap di school children from dia school on 7 March, goment officials announce dia released ontop social media.

Kaduna State Govnor Uba Sanni ontop im X page on Sunday say kidnappers don release di students.

Di govnor also thank president Bola Tinubu, national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and Nigerian Army for dia effort.

"In di name of Allah, I wish to announce say Kuriga students don dey free,” e tok.

“Our special appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wey pioritise di safety and security of Nigerians and particularly ensuring say di school children dey unharmed.

“While di school children dey captivity. I don speak wit president several times. Im share our pain, conmfort us and work round di clock wit us to ensure si safe return of di children.”

Di govnor no give details of di release, but days before di release, gunmen bin demand 1 billion naira ($690,000; £548,000) ransom for all di school children and staff but Nigerian goment tok say dem no go pay any ransom.

However, pipo wey dem bin kidnap in di past dey pay ransom to gunmen

How di Kaduna school kidnap take happun?

Gunmen bin ride motorcycles enta LEA Primary and Secondary School, Kuriga wen di students dey for assembly ground around 8:30am and kidnap some students.

According to witnesses, di school children dey for assembly ground around 08:30 wen gunmen ontop motorcycle storm di school, dem kidnap nearly 300 pipo including school children and staff.

One teacher for Government Secondary School Kuriga for Kaduna state, north-west Nigeria say di gunmen wey storm di school on Thursday, 7 March kidnap 280 pupils and staff afta head count.

Sani Abdullahi wey dey teach for di school say dem bin dey inside di school wen di kidnap happun but im luckily escape from di gunmen wen di gunmen enta di school premises and abduct students and teachers.

“I resume school today at exactly 7:47am. I enta di Acting Principal office and sign. All of a sudden, di acting principal say make I look my back and wen I turn, we discova say bandits don surround di school premises.

“We confuse, we no know wia to go. Den, di bandits ask us to enta bush, so we obey dem becos tiff plenty and di children wey follow us dey about 700. Wen we enta bush, I dey lucky to escape alongside many odas."