Zamfara abduction: Police reveals 317 girls were kidnapped by bandits
- More details are emerging on the recent abduction of schoolgirls in Zamfara state
- The police command in the north-west state has confirmed the number of girls taken away by the bandits
- Reports also say security chiefs in the state have mobilised their operatives to go after the terrorists
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
The Zamfara state police command has confirmed that a total of 317 schoolgirls were taken away by armed bandits in Government Girls Science Secondary School Jangebe in Jangebe, Zamfara state, Channels TV reports.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Friday, February 26 sparking outrage across Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists in the state, the Zamfara state commissioner of police, CP Abutu Yaro said a joint search and rescue operation is already underway with a view to rescuing the students kidnapped by the criminals.
Source: Twitter
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
CP Yaro said top security chiefs and other state government officials led a heavily armed re-enforcement team to Jangebe to complement the ongoing rescue operation in the locations where the students were believed to have been whisked to.
The commissioner while interfacing with the Principal of the school and the parents appealed to everyone to be calm, assuring them that the joint efforts of the police and other security agencies will surely lead to a successful rescue of the students.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that bandits kidnapped students in Jangebe town in Talata Mafara local government area of Zamfara state in the early hours of Friday, February 26.
The incident happened at Kawaye village weeks after the Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara commenced peace talks with the criminal gangs.
Meanwhile, the special adviser on media to the Kano state governor, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government has failed Nigerians in terms of securing the lives and properties of the citizens.
Yakassai, an APC chieftain, but an avid critic of the Buhari administration, took the government to the cleaners after new reports of students kidnapped by bandits in Zamfara state.
He wrote:
“Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number one duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives &andproperties. Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign.
“Each time another tragedy happens, we lament, condemn, create a hashtag, the government pretends to do something, no concrete steps to prevent reoccurrence, and then we repeat the process. To what end? Where are those saddled with the responsibility?
“Just last week it was #freekagaraboys, today we have a new hashtag #RescueJangebeGirls, who knows tomorrow what hashtag we will come up with? Perhaps one for ourselves when we get caught up in one of these daring attacks. This is sad and heartbreaking, I feel helpless and hopeless.’’
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, on Tuesday, February 23 declared that the ultimate agenda of armed bandits kidnapping people in northern Nigeria is to destroy the country.
Chairman of NGF and governor of Ekiti state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, made the statement during some governors' solidarity visit to Niger governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, in Minna over the recent abductions in the state by the armed criminals.
Governor Fayemi stated that what is happening in the northern part of the country is terrorism, adding that there was no other term to describe the constant acts of banditry and kidnapping recorded in the north.
Jerrywright Ukwu is an Abuja-based senior political/defence correspondent at Legit.ng. He is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos and the International Institute of Journalism in Abuja. He is also a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. He spends his leisure-time reading history books. He can be reached via email at jerrywright39@yahoo.com.
Source: Legit.ng
