At least 28 of the 180 boarding students of the Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna, have returned after escaping an attack by bandits in the early hours of Monday.
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A source in the school disclosed this in an interview, saying, 152 students were yet to be accounted for.
“We have 180 students in boarding and 28 escaped the bandits, at the moment we cannot account for 152 students”, the source said.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna state police command, said it rescued 26 of the students from the bandits.
Spokesman of the command, Mohammad Jalige, said in a statement on Monday that on the receipt of information about the incident, a joint team of the Nigeria Police, Army and Navy Operatives were immediately mobilised to the area with a mission to rescue the abducted students unhurt.
According to him, the operatives gave the bandits a hot pursuit and succeeded in rescuing 26 students including a female teacher safely.
Jalige said rescue operations were still ongoing to ensure that all victims are safely returned.
According to the statement, “on Monday 5th July, 2021 at about 0143hrs the Command received a report that armed bandits in large number had gained access into Bethel Baptist Secondary School Kujuma in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
“They shot berserkly, overpowered the school’s security guards and made their way into the students hostel where they abducted an unspecified number of students into the forest.
“On the receipt of the unfortunate incident, a joint team of the Nigeria Police, Army and Navy Operatives were immediately mobilised to the area with a mission to rescue the abducted students unhurt.
“The Operatives gave the bandits a hot pursuit occasioned by a tactical application of weapons and succeeded in rescuing twenty six (26) students including a female teacher safely.
“However, the rescue Operation is still ongoing to ensure that all victims are safely returned. Officers involved in the said operation are charged to ensure no stone is left unturned with a view to successfully accomplish the rescue mission since resources will be availed them without delay.
“The Command is therefore encouraging parents not to be deterred by the recent bandits’ activities in the state targeting schools and learning institutions as strategic measures will be emplaced to forestall further occurrence of such dastardly act of criminality against innocent children.
“The Command is saddened by the incident and call on all stakeholders on security to unite particularly at this very critical time to safeguard schools in order to guarantee a safe and secured learning environment and other meaningful businesses.”
However, some parents of the students have debunked claims by the police that the students were rescued.
Speaking in an interview, one of the parents, said “the police was using the word rescue to give themselves credit for doing nothing”.
According to him, “The 28 children escaped the bandits and they returned by themselves, they were not rescued by anybody.”
He said, “The police didn’t know how my son and several others miraculously escaped and they are claiming that they rescued them, this is not fair.
“For once we should learn to be truthful about somethings, this kind of statement from the police does not inspire confidence”.
Meanwhile hundreds of angry youths in Mararaban Rido, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis, located near the school blocked the Kaduna-Kachia road to protest against the abduction of the students.
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