There was jubilation in Katsina State as the Nigerian military late Thursday rescued 344 of students of Government Science Secondary School (GSSC), Kankara.
The children were seized by bandits from the all-boys boarding school in Kankara town last Friday, December 11 and holed up in one of the sprawling forests in the northwest region.
The state government confirmed their release, saying they were being returned to the state from Zamfara where they were kept in captivity.
Spokesman for the governor of Katsina State, Mr. Abdul Labaran, confirmed the release of the abducted students saying the bandits freed them in Zamfara forest where they were kept.
It was learnt that top government officials, including security agents, were heading to Kankara to receive the children.
“Yes, the students have been released by their abductors.
“Three hundred and forty four of them are currently being transported from Zamfara forest to Katsina State Government House this night (Thursday),” he said.
However, he was silent on whether or not ransom was paid for the release of the schoolboys.
The state governor, Mr. Aminu Masari, had said on Wednesday that the government was in negotiations with the bandits through the leadership of Miyetti Allah, the central organisation of Fulani herders.
He claimed that bandits and not Boko Haram abducted the schoolboys.
He said the state government knew the abductors of the children.
“The report we have and from the information available to us, this abduction was conducted and executed by local bandits that are known to all of us,” he had said.
When asked if there is a possible link between the attackers and Boko Haram, the governor said there are “signs” that bandits are making contact with the insurgents.
“You know over one year, there were signs that some of the elements of the bandits are making contact with some of the elements of Boko Haram or ISWAP,” he added.
Reacting to the report on the release of the schoolboys, President Muhammadu Buhari described their safe return as a big relief to their families, the entire country and the international community.
The president, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu, expressed the nation’s appreciation for the steps taken by all involved to make their release possible.
He lauded what he called the “spirit of partnership and the collaborative efforts of the governments of Katsina, Zamfara and military leading to the release.’’
He commended the nation’s intelligence agencies, the military and police force for providing the environment for the safe release of the hostages.
“The Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, and the army worked extremely hard. As soon as I got the information I congratulated them. The armed forces know their job. They have been well trained and properly motivated,” he stated.
On other detainees still in captivity, the president assured the people that his administration is aware of its responsibility to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.
He urged the citizens to be patient and fair to the administration as it deals with insecurity, economic crisis and corruption.
According to him, his administration knows that it was elected to resolve challenges.
“When we came, we made efforts that yielded the return of the Chibok girls. When a similar incident of school abduction happened at Dapchi, we successfully returned all but one of the more than one hundred abductees. When this latest incident happened, we put in our efforts and today we have this result to show.”
The president cited the successes of his administration in dealing with security in the South-south and North-east as proof of its commitment to guaranteeing the safety of lives and property.
He stated that the northwest now presents a challenge, which his administration is determined to deal with.
“We have a lot of work to do, especially now that we have re-opened the borders. It is unfortunate that the bandits and terrorists continue to get weapons even under the circumstances of the border closure. We are going to dare them. We will deal with all that,” the president added.
He prayed for the full recovery of the pupils, whom he said had endured hardships in the course of their six-day ordeal.
However, hours before their release, Boko Haram, which had claimed responsibility for the abduction, had released a video showing the abducted schoolboys in its custody.
The video, which could not be independently verified, followed the same pattern after the kidnap of the Chibok girls some years ago.
The video, circulating on social media, purportedly showed Boko Haram militants with some of the boys.
The trending video showed Boko Haram’s flag and a group of boys in a wood begging security forces to leave the area.
The video has not been authenticated though it bears the hallmarks of the terrorist group.
In the video, released yesterday by the insurgents, some of the boys, looking distraught, appealed to the government to cooperate with their abductors so that they can be freed.
“Please help us. Tell the vigilantes and soldiers not to come around,” one of the boys in the video said, adding: “More than 500 of us are in the forest.”
“Close any form of school, including Islamiyya. Please send the army back. They can’t do anything to help us. Please sir, we need your assistance,” the distraught boy said.
At the end of the video, a voice believed to be that of the Boko Haram leader, Mr. Abubakar Shekau, said that “he was doing Allah’s work.”
Earlier on Thursday, dozens of protesters marched through the streets in the city of Katsina under the banner #BringBackOurBoys.
That hashtag has been trending on Twitter in recent days, harkening back to a campaign launched to bring home more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014 in the northeastern town of Chibok.
The march in Katsina was in response to a call from the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), a civil society body that focuses on the welfare of northern Nigerians. Some of the demonstrators chanted ‘Save northern Nigeria’.
“Northern Nigeria has been abandoned at the mercy of vicious insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, rapists and an assortment of hardened criminals,” a member of CNG, Mr. Balarabe Ruffin said.
Also yesterday in Abuja, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged a peaceful protest in front of the party’s Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja, to demand the safe return of the Katsina pupils.
The protesters, chanting anti-Buhari and APC songs, urged the federal government to bring back the pupils.
The protesters carried various placards with the following inscriptions: “High insecurity under APC is too much.” “Buhari has failed.” “Stop insecurity in Nigeria.” “Bring back our boys now, now.” “Buhari must change the service chief now.”
The protesters stopped at the PDP Legacy office in Maitama Abuja, where they were addressed by the national chairman of the PDP, Mr. Uche Secondus.
“Our message is simple. It is high time the government of President Muhammadu Buhari brought back our children that were kidnapped. The level of insecurity in Nigeria is getting out of hand. Bring back the boys. Enough is enough,” he said.
A public affairs analyst, Ms Annie Olaloku-Teriba said the fact that the abduction took place in northwestern Nigeria raised concerns because that is outside of Boko Haram’s typical area of operation.
She said the boys’ kidnapping was in essence “an attack on education”, which may also have more long-lasting effects.
“It poses questions as to the capacity of the government to protect schoolchildren and young people,” Olaloku-Teriba told Al Jazeera on Thursday, shortly after the news broke of the boys’ release.
“And that can have much longer-lasting consequences in terms of parents’ confidence to send their young people and their children to school,” she said.
With ThisDay report
