Kaduna Govt Begins Negotiations For Release of Abducted Pupils, Teachers

Kaduna State government has begun negotiations for the release of the recently abducted 287 pupils and teachers in the state. The pupils were abducted from the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School, Kuriga 1, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.  According to investigations carried out by Punch newspapers, a highly influential private negotiator who has been involved in negotiating several abductions with bandits in the past, has been contacted by the state government for the assignment.  A highly placed source in the Kaduna State Government House, who is close to the negotiations but pleaded anonymity due to security reasons, confided in newsmen said the state government had reached out to the bandits through a private negotiator (names withheld) for the release of the pupils and their teachers. The source said, “The military has begun combing the forests in search of the children kidnapped by the bandits. Security agents have cordoned off the area and they have started searching for the abducted pupils. “The government is doing all it can for the speedy release of the abducted school pupils. “The government has established contact and reached out to the bandits for negotiation through a popular bandit negotiator. The negotiator was the one who worked for the return of some of the students abducted some years back. “He (the negotiator) had negotiated the return of so many abductees in the past. He negotiated the return of those students abducted in Katsina State years back.” Two other government officials also confirmed the development secretly to newsmen, but insisted on not being identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue. They also refused to provide additional information as they insisted that doing so might frustrate the ongoing efforts to secure the victims’ release and put them in harm’s way. Bandits, on Thursday, shortly after the assembly gathering at around 8.30am, stormed the LEA Primary School, Kuriga, abducted the pupils and some staff members of the schools.

‘Enough is Enough, Kidnappers deserve death penalty, Remi Tinubu fumes

Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has said that anyone convicted of abduction deserves capital punishment. The first lady stated this in her reaction to the news of 200 women who were kidnapped in Borno State, and over 280 pupils and teachers kidnapped in Kaduna State. Remi Tinubu, also described kidnappers as cowards, saying “Whoever is kidnapping young people is sick, cruel, and a coward. “Enough is enough and I call on the state governors that once we take hold of them, they deserve capital punishment. “Why don’t they take people their size? Why are they torturing our children? What they are trying to do is kill our future. “We all know parents, when we are old we rely on our children. “Why would you go and take them from schools? Right now, I think enough is enough. As a former lawmaker, I believe that any one of them captured deserves capital punishment. “They (kidnappers) are animals, they are evil and we should take them out of our midst. “The state governors and the lawmakers should do something.” Recall that about 200 women were reportedly kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists in the Gamboru-Ngala and Dikwa local government areas of Borno State. The women, who were Internally Displaced Persons, were said to have been kidnapped while they went into the bush in search of firewood. Also, over 280 pupils and teachers of Government Secondary School and LEA primary school at Kuriga, Kaduna State were abducted by bandits on Thursday, triggering national outrage. The bandits reportedly invaded the Kuriga area of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday, shooting at their victims before taking away at least 280 of the pupils and teachers from both schools.