Some of the 317 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State, kidnapped last Friday were freed in the early hours of Tuesday.
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed joy over the release of some abducted students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how majority of the 317 female students abducted from the school were freed early Tuesday.
Yusuf Idris, media aide to Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, confirmed the release of the girls to this newspaper.
The official said 279 schoolgirls were released around 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday. He said the girls were currently at the Zamfara Government House waiting to be reunited with their parents.
He asked for more time to provide details on the remaining 38 girls.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the students were abducted early Friday amidst the worsening security situation across Nigeria.
The abduction in Zamfara occurred about two weeks after dozens of students and some staff members were abducted by armed bandits from a school in Kagara, Niger State. The students in Niger were released on Saturday morning.
President Muhammadu Buhari had condemned the abductions, saying his government would not succumb to the blackmail of the bandits.
Overwhelming joy
In a statement by Presidential Spokesperson, Garba Shehu, the president said he was happy because the student’s ordeals ended in a happy note without any casualty.
“I join the families and people of Zamfara State in welcoming and celebrating the release of these traumatized female students” Mr Buhari said.
“Being held in captivity is an agonizing experience not only for the victims, but also their families and all of us.
While celebrating the release of the students, the president called for greater vigilance by the people so that human intelligence could be collected early enough to nip the bandits’ plans in the bud.
The president warned that the time had come to reverse, completely, the grim and heartbreaking incidents of kidnapping.
“Ransom payments will continue to prosper kidnapping,” he warned, while urging the police and the military to go after these kidnappers and bring them to justice,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES
