[UPDATED] Kagara Students Have Not Been Released — Niger Governor

Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, has said the 42 persons abducted by bandits from the Government Science College, Kagara, in the state, have not been released.

Rumour was rife on Sunday night that the students had been released.

At a press conference in Minna, the governor said efforts were being made to rescue them unhurt.

Recall how gunmen suspected to be bandits stormed the school on Wednesday, abducting 27 students and some staff members.

While one student who tried to escape was gunned down, a member of staff luckily broke loose from captivity.

Meanwhile, the passengers who were abducted last week Sunday by bandits affiliated to the Abubakar Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram, Jama’atu Ahlussunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, have been received at Government House, Minna.

The victims who walked into the government house hours after the governor announced their release were however not allowed to interact with journalists.

The passengers on board a Niger State Transport Authority bus were abducted in Kundu village, near Zungeru in Yakila District of Rafi Local Government Area of the state.

The incident, according to reports, occurred around 3 pm when the bandits waited in ambush as the public transport vehicle ran into the blockade.

A video released by the group seen by SaharaReporters on Wednesday shows the passengers begging the Nigerian government “to do something” about their release.

Some children and women were seen crying and pleading for the government to pay N500m ransom to facilitate their release.

Also in the video, one of the gunmen can be heard speaking in Hausa dictating to the victims what to say.

The bandits as well displayed their arsenal of weapons in a show of strength, threatening to eliminate their hostages if the government fails to pay the ransom or tries to secure their release by force.