Headlines
UPDATE: More than 500 Zamfara schoolgirls abducted – Teacher
BY NICHOLAS ABE
Only about 50 out of 600 schoolgirls of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, were left behind, after bandits stormed the school early Friday morning and abducted the students, according to a teacher who preferred not to be named.
This is just as the Zamfara State Government disclosed that the state was not sure of the actual number of abducted students.
The teacher, Daily Trust reports, said parents of the 50 ‘lucky’ students came as early as 5am to take away their daughters, just as some mothers of the kidnapped girls were devastated and wept uncontrollably.
“Initially, the school authorities prevented them from going with the remaining students but they grew angrier and began to pull down doors and windows of the buildings in the school and the school authority had to yield to their demands.
“When the gunmen laid siege, they attacked the soldiers stationed in the community before they gained entry into the school.
“Some people told us that they stationed vehicles at the outskirts of the school.
READ: Bandits kill 5, abduct Imam, 30 others inside mosque
“Security operatives and the local vigilante groups are trailing the gunmen and dozens of other residents have volunteered to take part in the search,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Zamfara State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Sulaiman Tunau Anka, said the exact number of abducted students was yet to be ascertained.
“We are yet to verify the exact number of students kidnapped.
“Security operatives have launched a manhunt for the criminals.
“They (bandits) went to the school with vehicles. Some of the girls were made to trek. We are on top of the situation as all contacts and efforts are being made to rescue the kidnapped schoolgirls,” he said.
The abduction happened hours after the state government said some repentant bandits had surrendered their arms.
Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has been pushing for a dialogue with bandits for peace to reign in the state.