At least 28 of the schoolchildren, part of the over 200 abducted by gunmen in Kaduna last week, have managed to escape amid the ongoing search and rescue operations conducted by the military for the remaining individuals.
Vice President Kashim Shettima flew into Kaduna yesterday to assess the situation on behalf of the federal government. He soon went into a meeting with the parents of the abductees.
Information and National Orientation Minister Mohammed Idris vowed that government was working towards degrading the capacity of criminals to launch similar attacks.
However, an armed gang early yesterday stormed Gidan Bakuso village in Gada Local Government Area of Sokoto State and abducted about 15 students of an Islamic school.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani confirmed the escape of the 28 students to the BBC.
It was not clear how the kids made their escape.
The Governor was at the Kaduna Airport yesterday to receive Vice President Shettima and accompany him to the meeting with the parents of the abducted children.
In remarks before the meeting continued behind closed doors, Shettima assured the parents and guardians that government was determined to ensure that all the abducted children were rescued safely.
He told them that President Bola Tinubu had instructed the security agencies to leave no stone unturned until all the kids were rescued.
He urged the media to be circumspect in their reports about the incident.
His words: “I am here on the behest of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to emphatise with the government and people of Kaduna State over the sad incident of this kidnapping of our school kids.
“The President is personally pained by what happened and he has instructed the security agencies to leave no stone unturned until we return our kids to their parents.
“The President has spoken with the Governor of Kaduna State four times. He has spoken with me three times about the rescue of the kids.
“As rightly captured by His Excellency the Governor, the situation is pathetic. I will align with His Excellency and impress on our friends in the media, we are all stakeholders in the Nigeria Project.
“Therefore we should be more circumspect. Let us be more selective in our choice of reporting on the internet of our kids that are not currently with us. I want to commend you and solicit for your continuous support.
“Once again, on behalf of my principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, please, accept our heartfelt sympathy over the incident that has befallen our people.
“Be rest assured that the President is equal to the task. The very essence of the existence of government is to secure the lives and property of the citizens.
“He has tasked the entire security architecture in the country to get back our kids safely.”
Governor Sani expressed appreciation to the Vice President on the visit, saying: “We have been working with the community as well as the leadership of Chikun Local Government to ensure that we collaborate with relevant security agencies to ensure that all the children return home safely.
“At this juncture, I will like to caution the media to be very careful with the way they make their report, because at this critical time, we have to avoid politicising this very unfortunate incident.
“What is important to us is the safe return of the children.
“I can say we are making some progress, but we are not going to disclose what we have been doing. It is not about politics but about security, and here in Kaduna we don’t politicise issue of security.”
