Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has stated that, contrary to rumors, 137 pupils, not 287, were abducted on March 7, 2024, from Kuriga village in the State’s Chikun local government area.
The governor, who made the clarification on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ programme, said all the schoolchildren abducted by the marauding bandits had been rescued by the military in collaboration with local authorities from neighbouring Zamfara State, where the hostages were moved to by their abductors.
The schoolchildren were abducted from LEA Primary School and Government Secondary School, Kuriga, about four weeks ago.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) ha on Sunday said a total of 137 students were rescued, contrary to reports that 287 children were abducted by the bandits.
An elated governor Sani said the number released by the military was the authentic figure, describing ‘287’ as a figment of some people’s imagination.
“I don’t want to join issues with anyone in terms of numbers. What is more important to me is the safe return of the children. Today, I am happy that they are back safely, in high spirit, but those numbers were just figment of some people’s imagination,” the governor stated.
“Today, I met with the families of the children and they confirmed to me that the numbers given by the military is the correct number,” he added, describing the ‘287’ figure as the creation of propagandists.
The governor, however, regretted that a teacher who was kidnapped alongside the pupils couldn’t make it out alive as he developed some complications while in captivity. He commiserated with the family of the deceased teacher and also consoled the families of the released schoolchildren.
He said, “It’s only one person that has not returned and that is the teacher. That is the fact of the matter but all of the 137 children are safely back. We had the unfortunate incident that the teacher couldn’t make it because he had some complications; he was sick — that was the report we got from the military and the security agencies but the rest of the children, all of them are back with us.”
The governor also said Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, was not involved in the negotiation for the return of the pupils, though the cleric had offered to negotiate with bandits for the release of the pupils.
Sani said, “All those speculations you are hearing today are figment of some people’s imagination. I can tell you that without any fear of contradiction. There was nothing like Gumi in this operation. I can tell you. I won’t undermine the efforts of our Armed Forces.”