Bandits raided the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday, March 7, kidnapping at least 312 pupils as well as the principal, Abubakar Isah.
Officials of the school and community leaders told Governor Uba Sani, who visited the school on Thursday, that 187 students were abducted from the secondary school section and 125 from the primary school section.
One of the teachers, Sani Abdullahi who escaped the abduction, said 25 of the pupils from the primary section had returned, leaving 287 students and the principal in custody of the bandits.
Abdullahi told the governor that at exactly 7:47am, he entered the acting principal’s office to sign his attendance when, suddenly, the bandits surrounded the school premises.
He said: “We became confused; we didn’t know where to go. Then, the bandits asked us to enter the bush, so we obeyed them because there were many of them, and the pupils, who are about 700 were following us. So, when we entered the bush, I was lucky to escape alongside many other people.
“So, I returned to the village and reported what happened to the community. So, immediately our vigilantes and personnel of the Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS) followed the bandits, but the vigilantes did not succeed. In fact, the bandits killed one of the vigilantes; we just buried him a short while ago.”
Governor Sani assured the government would do all possible to ensure all the children would return soon.