Abducted Katsina state students released; President Buhari welcomes development; No ransom was paid – Gov. Masari
The Katsina State Government has said that the abducted students of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara have been released by their abductors.
He added that the government had already sent vehicles to convey the children to Katsina, the state capital.
He said that arrangements had been made for their medical treatment, adding that government did not pay ransom for the release.
The freed students, according to NAN reports, have already arrived Zamfara.
Reacting to the news of the release of the students who were forcefully taken away from their boarding school, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is celebrating his 78th birthday today said that their safe return is a big relief to their families, the entire country and the international community.
The Special Adviser to the Katsina state Governor on Security, Ibrahim Katsina had earlier announced the release of the students to journalists in the state.
He revealed that the students were released on Thursday, December 17, 2020 at Tsafe, some 82.5km by road from Kankara town in Katsina State.
The state’s Governor, Aminu Masari, had said on Wednesday that the school boys were being held in a Zamfara forest.
Before then, Masari had told journalists after briefing President Buhari, who is in the state on a week-long visit, that they were making progress towards securing the release of the boys.
Boko Haram insurgents, operating mostly in the North East zone of the country had added fuel to the fire when they claimed that they were responsible for the kidnap of the students in the North West zone state of Katsina.
A statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Thursday, said that President Buhari, in a short remark shortly after the release was announced, expressed the nation’s appreciation for the steps taken by all involved to make their release possible.
President Buhari specifically cited what he called the “spirit of partnership and the collaborative efforts of the government of Katsina, Zamfara and military leading to the release.’’
He commended the nation’s intelligence agencies, the military and police force for providing the environment for the safe release of the hostages.
“The Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, and the army worked extremely hard. As soon as I got the information I congratulated them. The Armed Forces know their job. They have been well trained and properly motivated.”
On the issue of detainees held elsewhere in the country by either terrorists or bandits, the President gave assurances that his administration is aware of its responsibility to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians.
President Buhari urged the citizens to be patient and fair to the administration as it deals with the problems of security, economy and corruption.
He noted that the administration was fully aware that it was elected to resolve challenges.
“When we came, we made efforts that yielded the return of the Chibok Girls. When a similar incident of school abduction happened at Dapchi, we successfully returned all but one of the more than one hundred abductees. When this latest incident happened, we put in our efforts and today we have this result to show.”
The President pointed to the successes of the administration in dealing with security in the South South and North East.
He said the North West now presents a challenge which his administration is determined to deal with.
“We have a lot of work to do, especially now that we have re-opened the borders. It is unfortunate that the bandits and terrorists continue to get weapons even under the circumstances of the border closure. We are going to dare them. We will deal with all that,” the President further assured.
He prayed for the full recovery of the students, whom he said had endured significant hardships in the course of their six-day ordeal.
The President assured of the determination of his administration to return to safety all citizens held against their will.
