Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said it rescued 137 out of the supposedly 287 school children that were abducted from the Kuriga community in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state.
The LEA School’s authorities had said about 287 pupils were kidnapped when gunmen stormed the premises on March 7. However, the DHQ’s statement on the rescue operation of the pupils was silent about the whereabouts of the remaining 150 students.
The statement by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen. Edward Buba explained that the 137 students were rescued in the early hours of Sunday, March 24 by the troops with support from local authorities and government agencies in Zamfara state.
“The rescued hostages totalling 137 comprises 76 females and 61 males were rescued in Zamfara State and would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.”
Earlier, the Explainer reported how the state government confirmed the rescue of the abducted school children. However, the state governor Uba Sani did not also clarify the number of children rescued or still left in captivity.
Meanwhile, Buba said the recent success of the troops was a testament to their resolve to rescue kidnapped victims across the country, adding that similar efforts have been put in place to track down those behind the killing of soldiers in Delta State.
“These efforts demonstrate the armed forces’ resolve to find other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.
“These efforts would continue until other hostages are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law.
”Troops are employing similar efforts to track down the culprits responsible for the killings of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State.”
The rescue of the Kaduna pupils comes a day after troops also rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada LGA of Sokoto State.
The troops have handed over the rescued victims to the Sokoto State Government.
200 IGP Special Intervention Squad Arrives Kaduna
Less than 24 hours after the government received the good news about the rescue of the students, the Explainer observed that no fewer than 200 Inspector General of Police Special Intervention Squad have been deployed to curb the security challenges in the state.
Governor Uba Sani while receiving the special contingent at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House on Sunday expressed appreciation to the; Inspector General of Police Mr Kayode Egbetekun for deploying the squad.
The reception of the IGP Special Intervention Squad came while the rescued School Children were also expected at the Kaduna Government House.
Armed with Armoured Personnel Carriers and other sophisticated weapons, the officers are expected to be deployed to troubled areas such as Birnin Gwari, Chikun, and Kajuru among others.
