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42 students, staff abducted in Niger school by bandits
BY NICHOLAS ABE
A total of 42 persons were abducted Wednesday in an early morning attack by bandits at Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, Niger State.
State governor, Abubakar Bello, confirmed 27 students, three staff and 12 of their relatives were abducted in yet another tragic incident as terrorists and bandits continue to have free rein across the northern states of Nigeria.
Bello said emphatically that the Niger state government will not be paying ransom for the release of the abducted students and others.
“It is not in our policy as a government to pay ransom to bandits because we have noticed that they use this same money to buy arms and ammunition. However, the government will be ready to support and assist repentant bandits,” he said.
READ: Bandits abduct 11 children, staff in Abuja orphanage
Hours after the kidnap, President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly dispatched military and police chiefs to coordinate the rescue of the victims.
A senator from Niger, Muhammed Musa (APC, Niger) moved a motion in Senate on Wednesday to call on President Buhari to declare a state of emergency.
In his lead debate, Senator Musa said though security agents have launched rescue effort to secure the release of the victims, their whereabouts were still unknown.
Senator Muhammad Bima Enagi (Niger South) said the high rate of killings and kidnappings in the country showed that the government at the centre seemed to be incompetent in addressing insecurity.
“Do we need to amend the constitution to allow the citizens carry arms to protect themselves?” he queried.