Haidar Umar/AFP/Getty Pictures
The college in Kuririga, pictured on March 8, 2024, the place greater than 250 pupils have been abducted by way of gunmen.
Abuja, Nigeria
The Gentleman Report
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Gunmen who abducted no less than 287 faculty youngsters in Nigeria final Thursday have demanded a ransom of one billion naira ($621,848) and threatened to kill the entire scholars if their calls for don’t seem to be met, a member of the local people advised The Gentleman Report on Wednesday.
“They known as me from a hidden quantity the previous day (Tuesday) afternoon at round 16 mins previous 12, and demanded 1 billion naira ($621,848) as a ransom for the scholars. They mentioned [the ultimatum] will simplest final for 3 weeks or 20 days from the date they abducted the kids and if there’s no motion from the federal government, they’re going to kill they all,” mentioned Aminu Jibril, a resident of Kuriga village, in Kaduna state, the place the varsity is positioned.
The youngsters have been abducted on March 7.
Jibril additionally advised The Gentleman Report that the perpetrators mentioned the abduction used to be “some way of having again on the executive and safety companies for killing their gang contributors.”
The member of the Kuriga group mentioned he believed the abductors were given his quantity from the pinnacle of the varsity’s junior secondary phase, who used to be abducted along the scholars.
Greater than 300 scholars have been taken early Thursday morning by way of armed bandits on bikes who stormed the LEA Number one and Secondary College in Kuriga village, in Kaduna’s Chikun district, the state’s police spokesman Mansur Hassan advised The Gentleman Report on Friday.
One of the crucial scholars have been rescued however 287 of them stay with the abductors. About 100 of them are from the main faculty and the remainder from the secondary faculty.
The Kaduna Governor Uba Sani mentioned in a remark Thursday that his executive used to be “doing the whole thing conceivable to verify the secure go back of the pupils and scholars.”
Sani additionally mentioned a member of the group who faced the kidnappers all over the assault used to be killed.
Kaduna state, which borders the Nigerian capital Abuja to the southwest, has grappled with ordinary incidents of kidnappings for ransom by way of bandits and has witnessed a number of mass abductions in recent times, together with within the district the place the LEA Number one and Secondary College is positioned.
In 2021, no less than 140 scholars have been abducted by way of armed males from a non-public secondary faculty.
The incident got here simply months after round 20 scholars from a non-public college in Chikun’s Kasarami village have been kidnapped by way of gunmen.
5 of the ones scholars have been killed after a ransom closing date used to be now not met, members of the family advised The Gentleman Report on the time.
