One of the kidnapped students of Bethel Baptist Secondary school in the Chikun local government area of Kaduna state has been rescued, according to the police.
Gunmen had on July 5 stormed the school and whisked away 121 students to an unknown destination.
Five days after, the abductors demanded food items from their parents to enable them to feed the children, warning that failure to do so will expose the children to impending starvation.
Worried by the situation, the distraught parents of the abducted students held prayer sessions for the rescue of their children.
Mass school kidnappings have been rife in the north-western part of the country with the students of the Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna being one of the latest victims.
Hundreds of students have been abducted since the beginning of the year by armed bandits, with many of such incidents occurring in the northwest zone.
The student rescued on Tuesday, Abraham Aniya, was found roaming inside a forest in Tshohon Gaya village in Chikun local government area along with two other kidnap victims, Zaharaddeen Ibrahim and Nura Nuhu.
Ibrahim and Nuhu had been abducted by bandits along the Kaduna-Kachia road.
According to a police statement signed by spokesperson Mohammed Jalige, they were found roaming the forest “extremely exhausted and weak” by police operatives and men of the Civilian JTF on routine patrol.
The police said the victims have been safely evacuated and rushed to a police clinic in the state capital, where they are currently being resuscitated, after which they will be handed over to their families.
It is not yet clear how the trio escaped from the bandits, but the police have promised to rescue more victims “within the shortest possible time.”
KADUNA POLICE COMMAND PRESS RELEASE
RESCUE OF THREE KIDNAPPED VICTIMS INCLUDING ONE STUDENT OF BETHEL BAPTIST SCHOOL ON 13TH JULY, 2021
The Kaduna Police Command’s mission to rescue all kidnap victims through intelligence-led Policing and the rigorous patrol had yesterday yielded a positive result with the rescue of three victims to safety.
On the 12th July 2021 at about 1540hrs the Operatives of the Command alongside Civilian JTF on routine rescue patrol around the forest of Tsohon Gaya village of Chikun LGA of Kaduna State stumbled on three kidnapped victims roaming the bush extremely exhausted and weak. The victims were safely evacuated and rushed to Police Clinic Kaduna where they are currently being resuscitated and will subsequently be handed over to their immediate families.
During the course of the investigation, the three (3) victims were identified as Zaharaddeen Ibrahim, Nura Nuhu that were kidnapped recently along Kaduna – Kachia Road and Abraham Aniya one of the students of Bethel Baptist Secondary School, Kujama that were kidnapped the previous week. Thus, the Command is currently relentless in ensuring that more victims are rescued within the shortest possible time.
ASP MOHAMMED JALIGE
POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FOR: COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
KADUNA STATE COMMAND