Kaduna School Confirms Abduction of 121 Students

….Bandits assures of safety of students

John Shiklam

The President of the Kaduna Baptist Convention, Rev. Ishaya Jangadi, yesterday confirmed that 121 students were abducted by bandits at the Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna.

The students were abducted on Monday when the gunmen, said to be about 70 invaded the school.

Speaking in an interview with journalists after a meeting with parents of the abducted children at the school premises in Damishi village, Jangadi said the bandits had contacted the school authorities.

He said the bandits confirmed that the children were with them and were safe, adding that the bandits were yet to make any demand.

Jangadi said “some of the children spoke with us” and they (the children) counted themselves and said 121 of them were with the bandits.

“On Monday morning we received a distress information that bandits have entered our school.

“We alerted the security officers who came to our rescue and actually they respond. They came in and they met the bandits who were already going away with a number of our students and they start exchanging fire.”

According to him, “In the course of exchanging fire, they lost two of the soldiers.
“We have 154 boarding students in the school. After the exchange of fire between the bandits and the security personnel, we came to the school and we recovered 28 students .
“Some of them hide in different places. Some of them in the course of taking them away, they escaped from the bandits and came back to the school.

“So the total number of students we recovered yesterday were 28. “
Speaking further Jangadi said, “Today, by the grace of God, we had a call from the bandits. They assured us that our children are well.

“We had the privilege of speaking with a few of them. They (the students) counted themselves in the jungle and they gave us information that they are 121 with the bandits.

“When we add the number with the number of those recovered, we discovered that the number is exactly the number of boarders we have in the school. The bandits have not made any demands.”

He said the meeting with the parents was to calm them and solicit for their support in ensuring the release of the students.

“We met with the parents to appreciate them for their patient, understanding and calmness and to also solicit for their support in this trying moments.

“We assured them as management of the school that we will do everything possible to see how we can recover our students.

“We are working together to see what we can do. We don’t know what the bandits will say. “They may call for a ransom and will go for negotiation. We have agreed with parents to supervise in prayers and look up to God in this matter.”

Jangadi also said the management of the school had informed the government about the incident adding that the government had assured that everything will be done to rescue the students.

“We have informed the government about this matter and we had meeting with them and they told us that they will do everything possible to rescue the students.”

The bandits were said to have deceived the students that they were soldiers who had come to rescue them from kidnappers and the students all came out to meet them.

Narrating how the incident occurred, a house master in the school said the bandits were about 70 and they came in by scaling the fence.