Suspected armed bandits have reportedly kidnapped no fewer than 15 Tsangaya students in the Gidan Bakuso area of the Gada local government area of Sokoto state.
The incident, according to findings by our correspondent, took place at about 1:am on Saturday at the school premises.
Confirming the unfortunate incident, the proprietor of the school, Mallam Liman Abubakar, said, “So far, 15 students have been unaccounted for, but we are still counting.”
“They invaded the town around 1:am, shot one person, and abducted a woman in the process.
“As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms, and they kidnapped many of them.
“We have so far counted 15 who are missing and we are still searching for more,” he said
Liman added that this was not the first time the village was attacked by bandits, but they had never kidnapped any of their students until now.
Also speaking, Mansur Ahmadu, a resident of the affected community, said the suspected bandits invaded the community in the middle of the night.
“It was a serious situation when the incident happened; they killed a woman in the process before they abducted those students.”
Also confirming the incidence, a member representing the Gada-East constituency at the state House of Assembly, Kabiru Dauda, said he received a call from the village around 2 a.m. that they were invaded by bandits.
“I reached out to the local government authorities and security agencies, and I am sure they are doing something about it.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, ASP Ahmad Rufa’i, said the command has deployed a team to ascertain the real situation.
He said, “Most of your colleagues have been calling me on this, but honestly, I just spoke with the Divisional Police Officer of the affected community.
“We have mobilised our men to ascertain what actually happened, and I can assure you that we are on top of the situation. I will brief you on it,” he added.
Efforts to speak with the Special Adviser on security matters to the governor, Col. Ahmed Usman (rtd), were not successful as his line was not reachable at the time of filling out this report.
A top government official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the attack while assuring that the government would do everything possible to ensure the safety of the abducted students.
Northwest Governors pledge to unite against terrorism
Governors across the north-west region of Nigeria have expressed their readiness to form a united front in their efforts to tackle terrorists who are terrorising the region.
The Chairman of the North West Governors Forum and Governor of Katsina State, Dr Umar Dikko Radda, disclosed this at the graduation and official launching of 2,600 members of the Sokoto State Community Guards Corps ( SSCGC) in Sokoto, the state capital.
Radda stated that the governors in the region have resolved to work together as a force to clear the region of terrorists.
“We have resolved to work together as a team, despite political differences, to save our people from the menace of insecurity,” he added.
According to him, “In the fight against banditry, there are no divisions such as the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), but only a unified Northwest.”
He stressed that the well-being and progress of the region are the main concerns of the current leadership in the region.
Radda noted that with the launch of the community protection guards in Katsina , Sokoto, and Zamfara States, the remaining states of Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano, and Kaduna would follow suit.
Speaking in his remarks, Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyu expressed appreciation for the successful screening and training of the Community Guard Corps to address insecurity in the state.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to ending banditry in the state and improving infrastructural developments.
On their part, the governors of Bauchi , Benue, and Plateau States said terrorists do not discriminate in their operations, hence the need to collectively unite against them.
They urged President Bola Ahmad Tinubu to deploy state resources to fight insecurity.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, lauded the governors for their commitment to tackling insecurity in their domain.
He noted that those who kill others in the name of going to paradise will never see God, stressing that God will never support the shedding of innocent blood.
He enjoined governments and security agencies to investigate the immediate and remote causes of insecurity to enable them to find a lasting solution to it.
The eight Governors of Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Benue, Bauchi, Katsina, Plateau and the Deputy of Jigawa state attended the event