By Kaduna Attack: Bandits have resumed their attacks in several areas of the country after a pause in their activity. Residents of Awon in Kaduna State describe how eight pupils from the Government Secondary School Awon in the Kachia Local Government Area were kidnapped on Monday in this story by SOLOMON ODENIYI and GODWIN ISENYO.
On Tuesday, the Kaduna State Government announced that it had learned that eight students from the Government Secondary School, Awon in the Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State had been abducted.
In a statement, Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs, stated that the information originated from security agencies and that more information on the occurrences was forthcoming.
The commissioner claimed on Tuesday morning stating that the number of the kidnapped students was given as 10.
Aruwan, however, stated that the number was eight with certainty in a later statement.
“The Kaduna State Government has received early reports from security agencies on the kidnapping of approximately 10 students in Kachia LGA,” the earlier statement stated.
Preliminary reports state that on Monday, kids from the day secondary school Government Secondary School, Awon, were abducted.
“The particular location of the incident is yet unknown, but the detailed reports that are being awaited will reveal whether it happened on school property or somewhere else.
When these reports are received, “the government will release a public announcement accordingly.”
Later on in the day, the commissioner released a second statement in which he said, “In an update to the earlier report claiming the kidnapping of around 10 students in Kachia LGA, the Kaduna State Government has received comprehensive details from security agencies on the event.
“The government is able to report that on Monday, a group of people including eight kids from the Government Secondary School in Awon, Kachia LGA, were abducted.
“In addition, it was confirmed that the children were encountered by the bandits—who had already kidnapped other residents—on their way home from school, not inside the school’s walls.
The names and classes of the abducted children have been provided by the school administration.
In a statement, Governor Nasir El-Rufai claimed that he had “heard assurances that attempts are being made to free the eight students and other kidnapped civilians” and that he regretted the kidnapping.
When one of our correspondents visited the area on Tuesday, locals told him that the bandits had arrived on seven motorcycles and were firing intermittently into the air.
They claimed that at least 11 pupils were abducted, and four of them managed to escape the bandits.
Due to the occurrence, our correspondent noticed that the neighborhood’s primary and secondary schools, as well as the market, were all empty.
Shehu Ishaku, one of the students who managed to escape the bandits, claimed that he and his friends fled into the jungle as soon as they spotted the attackers.
The Senior Secondary School 3 student continued, saying that after being pursued into a nearby village’s bush, where he was eventually trapped, he managed to flee.
There is no network in this region, so we were returning from where we had gone to call one of our uncles when we noticed them getting off of their motorcycles and walking toward us brandishing their weapons. Seven or eight motorcycles were all I saw. We fled into the underbrush as soon as we saw them, and two motorcycles followed us.
I was apprehended at Akwndo village, Kaduna. They told me they weren’t joking with me and were furious.
I was apprehended at Akwndo village. They told me they weren’t joking with me and were furious. I was instructed to lay down and hand over my phone. I didn’t; instead, they shot me in the neck with the butt of their gun. In my mouth, I noticed blood. They spotted two girls running while I was there and pursued them before catching them. I then sprinted away from them at that point.
Mohamed Alima, a pupil in SS2, added, “That happened around 10 in the morning. Some of them asked us to flee as they entered on their motorcycles. Another set was attempting to catch students as we were doing it.
Some of us ignored their yells to go over to the opposite side of the road, so they started shooting. Those that ventured across the street were pursued inside the bushes. Despite the danger, I did not cross; instead, I continued to run until they abandoned me. Today was a closed day for the school.
One of the kidnapped pupils’ grandmother, Iya Tunde, who went by that name, claimed that her son had been searching the jungle for his daughter.
“My son and his buddy have been to the bush in search of them but no attempt,” the 80-year-old mother claimed. I’ve sobbed. I ask that they let them go.
Because bandits prevented my son from harvesting the crops he sowed, we are poor. My daughter went to school without food since we were unable to provide for her. I’m too weak to handle this because of my age. I wished she had not experienced this.
Mohamed Jalige, the police spokesperson, promised to answer when our journalist called him, but as of the time this report was filed, he had not.
In the meantime, the Sabon Garin Nasarawa-Tirkaniya village in the Chikun LGA, Kaduna had a 24-hour curfew lifted, according to Aruwan, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs.
According to Aruwan, the curfew was loosened after “strict security agencies surveillance and assessment of the situation.”
“From tomorrow, Wednesday, April 5, 2023, the curfew will be in effect from 7 pm to 7 pm, and locals may conduct their daily business from 7 am to 7 pm.
According to reports, the gunmen reportedly entered the community late at night and began firing at everyone they could see.
Mr. James Adah, the All Progressive Congress’ ward chairman, was one of those shot to death.
Yahaya Bello, the governor of Kaduna state, referred to the attacks as “vile and diabolical,” calling it a “planned assault on the peace-loving people of Oganenugu who had enjoyed relative peace and security.”
The governor pledged that his administration would keep the state’s problem entrepreneurs out of it while making sure that those responsible were brought to justice.
The administration “would never yield to the intrigues of callous groups in its aims to rid the state of criminals,” he said, describing the attacks as terrible.
On the suburbs of Yenagoa, the state capital of Bayelsa, alleged assassins are said to have murdered a construction worker and deposited his body along Gloryland Drive.
