As 137 kidnapped pupils, students, and teachers of LEA Primary School and Government Secondary School (GSS), Kuriga in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state regained freedom in the early hours of Sunday, parents have narrated their ordeals during the 17 days of their children in captivity.
Bandits had on March 7, stormed the LEA Primary School, Kuriga, a facility that is also temporarily accommodating GSS Kuriga, and whisked away hundreds of schoolchildren and their teachers.
One of the secondary school teachers, Sani Abdullahi, who briefed the state governor, Uba Sani at Kuriga hours after the incident said, a total of 287 persons, including pupils, students, and teachers were marched into the bush by the armed attackers.
Bandits had one week after the abduction reached out to the community, demanding N1bn ransom as they handed down a 20-day ultimatum for the ransom payment, with failure to kill the hostages
However, 17 days after the abduction, the Defence Headquarters issued a statement, saying that, troops rescued 137 of the kidnapped schoolchildren.
The DHQ Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said the students were rescued in Zamfara State and will be transported and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.
According to him, “The hostages are the same persons that were abducted from the school at Kuriga in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State”
He further stated: “The military, in collaboration with local authorities and government agencies nationwide, conducted a coordinated search and rescue operation to secure the hostages.”
While the rescued children were still being awaited in Kaduna, the State Governor Uba Sani, his Deputy, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe and other top government functionaries held a closed-door meeting with heads of security agencies and leaders of the Kuriga community.
At the end of the meeting, one of the community leaders and a parent who holds the traditional title of Tafida Kuriga, Jubril Gwadabe Kuriga, said parents were traumatized, while some died while their children were in bandits’ captivity.
Kuriga whose nine-year-old daughter was among the kidnapped children, recalled how he used to wake up in the middle of the night and cried because of the uncertain condition of his daughter.
According to him, “My name is Jubril Gwadabe Kuriga. Tafida Kuriga. I have a child by the name Aisha, she is 9 years old and she was among those kidnapped too.
We were traumatized throughout the period of the absence of our children. Our children were away in the bush, with no food, and no good water.
“Let me tell you, sometimes 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock in the night, I would wake up, I would just be crying, thinking how is she? Has she eaten? I think of all that because I know if she is at home, normally before she goes to school in the morning, she would eat then she would come back to eat breakfast and then when they close by two o’clock before she goes for Islamiyya she takes something.
“I am always playing with her at home but with her absence now I have been feeling very bad. They said all the children are back that is what they said all of them are back but seeing is believing.
“There is a woman whose four children were among the kidnapped pupils. She could not eat, she could not sleep.
“If I can even tell you, some parents died within the period the children were with Kidnappers. I cannot tell you the number of those who died. But I believe some are dead.
“The government called us and informed us that the children are with them. That is the true story, but we have not seen them yet.
“They promised us by tomorrow (Monday) they will hand over the children to us. Each student or child will be handed over to the parents.
“We are feeling happy because it is not easy missing your child for this long period, so, we need to be happy,” he narrated.
Speaking on the future of the children’s education in Kuriga, the parent said, “With the presence of security now in our area, we are going to mount the security so that our children can go back to school.
“We are happy that we now have a security presence. We are going to use them to see that our children go back to school,” he said.
In a related development, the IGP Special Intervention Squad sent in response to the resurgence of banditry in Kaduna State, has arrived at Kaduna.
The Squad which consists of two hundred officers and personnel of the Nigeria Police, were received by Governor Uba Sani at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House Kaduna on Sunday.
The Squad is armed with Armoured Personal Carriers otherwise known as APCs and other sophisticated weapons.
IGP Egbetokun had recently during his visit to Governor Sani after the kidnap of the Kuriga school children, promised deployment of a Police Mobile Force (PMF) against banditry in the State.
The Governor while receiving the Squad, expressed appreciation to the; Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetekun for fulfilling his promise on the deployment of the Squad.
Governor Uba Sani also expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, particularly President Bola Ahmad Tinubu and the security agencies for the successful rescue of the kidnapped Kuriga School Children.
