Thugs tie 42 abductees in pairs, flee on motorbikes in Niger school invasion [PHOTOS]

Some Niger residents who witnessed the kidnapping of 27 students and 15 workers of Government Science College, Kagara in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, have described how the kidnappers tied their victims in pairs and took them away.

The man, who lives close to the school revealed that the bandits, who wore military uniform, stormed the school at 2am.

When journalists got to the school at 2pm on Wednesday, he observed that many buildings including classrooms and hostels were dilapidated.

The source, who described how the incident occurred, disclosed that before moving to the GSS Kagara, the bandits had parked their motorcycles close to Attahiru Secondary School, a distance of one kilometre to the GSS Kagara.

He stated, “When they (the victims) were being taken away, I saw that they were tied in pairs and marched to where the motorcycles were parked from where they were taken into the bush.”

A worker of the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that the gunmen entered the school from the rear, where the fence had fallen.

According to him, they headed to the staff quarters, where 15 workers, including teachers, were kidnapped before going to students’ hostel.

According to the source, a senior secondary school 3, Bejamin Abila, who raised the alarm when the bandits were approaching the hostel was shot dead.

“They abducted 27 students in the hostel and tied all the abductees in pairs before taking them out of the school,” the source stated.

Another source lamented the dilapidation of the school, saying it was prone to bandits’ attacks.

Khamis Tahir, parent of a worker in the school, in an interview, said “ I got a call that kidnappers had invaded the Government Science College, Kagara. Immediately after my prayer, I moved down to the school. I realised that my daughter together with some students had been kidnapped. We are here and many security agents have been moving up and down here”, but up till now we have not heard anything.”

The state Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, after a security meeting in Minna, the state capital, ordered the immediate closure of boarding schools in four local government areas of the state, which had witnessed increased kidnappings.

The local government areas affected are Rafi, Mariga, Munya and Shiroro.

Bello said the action was necessary to save lives of the students as the areas had already been taken over by bandits.

The governor appealed to the President Muhammadu Buhari, to deploy necessary mechanism in flushing out the bandits.

He ruled out payment of ransom to free the abducted students and workers, saying the state government adopted the policy to discourage the kidnappers from using the proceeds of their crime to purchase more weapons.

Also on Wednesday, the governor met with a Kaduna based cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, at the Government House, Minna.

After the meeting, Gumi told journalists that he would visit Kagara, where the 27 students were kidnapped.

“The governor and I spoke on several ways to deal with insecurity in a holistic manner and find solutions to the insecurity problem in the state,” the cleric stated.

Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Wednesday said the President had directed the Armed Forces and Police to ensure immediate and safe return of abducted students.

He said the President had also dispatched to Minna a team of security chiefs to coordinate the rescue operation and meet with state officials and other stakeholders.

Shehu announced this in a statement titled, “President Buhari condemns school abduction in Niger State, dispatches security officials to the state.”

The statement read in part, “President Muhammadu Buhari has received reports of the brazen attack on Government Science College, Kagara, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, following which a yet to be ascertained number of staff and students have been abducted by gunmen.

The ambushed bus on Minna-Zungeru Road

“Following these reports, the President has directed the Armed Forces and Police, to ensure immediate and safe return of all the captives.

“The President has also dispatched to Minna, Niger State a team of security chiefs to coordinate the rescue operation and meet with state officials, community leaders, as well as parents and staff of the College.

“President Buhari has assured all of the support of his administration to the Armed Forces in their brave struggle against terrorism and banditry and urged them to do all that can be done to bring an end to this saga, and avoid such cowardly attacks on schools in the future.”

Shehu also quoted the President as saying that his prayers were with families of the victims of the attack as he condemned “as cowardly the attack on innocent school children.”

Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday asked the President to declare a state of emergency on security without further delay.

The red chamber made the call following a point of order by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), on the abduction of students and teachers of the GSS Kagara.

Musa said the terrorist who whisked their victims away were dressed in military uniforms. The Senator said security agencies had explained that they were on the trail of the criminals.

The Senate demanded the implementation of its ad hoc resolution on security and urged the combined team of military and police to set up an operation to destroy criminal camps across the country.

Senator Sabi Abdullahi, also from Niger State, said the kidnappers and bandits were emboldened by the successes being recorded in the state, in recent times as about 100 people had so far been kidnapped in the state.

He said the forest from the Federal Capital Territory extended to Niger State up to Zamfara State, was being used by the criminals.

He said the fact that the bandits had invaded Niger State was an indication that safety of lives and property of the FCT residents was being threatened.

Senator Bima Enagi, also from Niger State, declared that the Buhari regime was incompetent to handle security challenges in the country.

He said, “We need to amend the constitution so that governors should be chief security officers of their states since the government at the centre has failed to protect lives and property of Nigerians.

“ The Federal Government is busy giving palliatives instead of creating employment, thus aggravating insecurity.

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, described the kidnap of the students as unfortunate.

He, however, said the security agencies had challenges of personnel and funds.

He said, “Abductions of students from school happen in northern part of Nigeria.

“With incidents like this, parents would be scared to take their wards to school and the efforts of the past and present leaders at providing education would be defeated.

“Service chiefs have to secure the schools and have to carry the states along.”

Musa had in his motion noted that the security agencies had been able to detect the area where the students were taken to, and have started tracing the bandits.

Rise up and repel bandits, kidnappers, FG charges Nigerians

The Federal Government has called Nigerians to defend themselves against bandits, kidnappers and other criminals across the country.

The Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (retd.), stated in an interview with journalists at the House of Representatives, after the screening of the new service chiefs.

He said, “We have demonstrated our ability to take on the challenge. We have done it in Katsina; when children were kidnapped, within two days, we got them back. Hopefully, this time, we will do the same (thing) to get this these captives back. I am sure that before the end of the day, we will be given a full brief on what is going on in Niger State.”

Magashi, while responding to the rising spate of insecurity across the country, urged Nigerians to repel criminals when they attacked them.

The minister asked, “Is it the responsibility of the military alone? It is the responsibility of everybody to be alert and ensure safety when necessary. But we shouldn’t be cowards. At times, the bandits will come with only about three rounds of ammunition and when they fire shots, everybody will run. In our younger days, we stand to fight any aggression coming to us. I don’t know why people are running away from minor, minor aggressions? They should stand and let these people (criminals) know that the people – villagers- have the competence and capability to defend themselves.”

Magashi, however, noted that government would ensure that Nigerians were protected as well as the territorial integrity of the county.

When asked if civilians would be allowed to carry firearms to protect themselves, the minister said, “It is an issue even in the developed countries; they are still debating on it, whether to continue or stop. But I don’t advice Nigerians to use firearms for internal use.”