President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the release of 27 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna State.
The students were released Thursday, over one month after they were abducted. There were released following negotiations with the kidnappers by government officials and families of the victims. The details of the negotiations were not made public.
According to a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, Mr Buhari also “appeals for the release of the students of the Greenfield University and all other citizens held in captivity.”
About 16 Greenfield University students are still being held by kidnappers in Kaduna State. The undergraduates were kidnapped last month and five of those kidnapped have already been killed by their abductors.
Kidnapping for ransom has become rampant in Kaduna and many other states in Nigeria.
Read the full statement by Mr Shehu below.
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT BUHARI WELCOMES RELEASE OF FORESTRY SCHOOL STUDENTS
President Muhammadu Buhari welcomes the release of the 27 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, near Kaduna and congratulates their friends, families and the government and people of Kaduna State following the happy end to the saga.
“We are happy they have been released,” says the President. “We express our deep appreciation to all the actors who contributed one way or the other to this happy outcome, in particular the defence and security agencies, the officials of the Ministry of Environment and the government of Kaduna State. We thank Nigerians for their prayers.”
President Buhari calls for steadfastness and security awareness on the part of citizens and the law enforcement agencies and deplores the increasing politicization of security in the country by opportunistic politicians.
The President appeals for the release of the students of the Greenfield University and all other citizens held in captivity, expressing the strong determination of his administration to ensure that Nigerians lived in a country where everyone can move where they want, when they want without the fear of kidnapping and banditry.
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
May 5, 2021
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