The 137 abducted pupils of Kuriga Primary and Junior Secondary School in Kaduna State, are still yet to reunite with their families, three days after they were released from captivity.
Recall that the children were abducted on March 7, 2024, after bandits invaded their school located in Kuriga village of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The school children were, however, rescued by the military on Sunday, March 24, precisely after 16 days in captivity and met with the governor later in the evening.
On Monday, the military handed over the 131 rescued children to the state Governor, Uba Sani, while six of the students who were hospitalised would be handed over to the state later,
According to Daily Trust, since the announcement of their return, the parents of the freed schoolchildren have been eager to welcome them back home to the village.
Some parents who spoke to the newspaper on Tuesday expressed their eagerness to meet their children and welcome them back to the village.
One of the fathers, Adamu Abdulrauf Kuriga, whose daughter, Hadiza, was among the abducted children, said he couldn’t wait to receive his daughter after almost two weeks without seeing her.
“We are still waiting to receive the children because we haven’t seen them since they were abducted. Even though we know they are with the government, we will want to have them back home with us. This is the joy of every parent to see his child,” he said.
Kuriga prayed that such an unfortunate incident would never happen to any parent in the state or the country in general.
He commended the security agencies and the state government for their role in rescuing the children but still hoped they would be reunited soon.
Also speaking, a mother, Khadiza, whose daughter, Safiya, was among the rescued students, also said she can’t wait to see her daughter in good spirits.
“We are happy the children were rescued and are with the government. But as a mother, I want to see my daughter because we can’t wait to see the children back home with us,” she said.
Another mother, who identified herself as Binta, said her son, Suleiman, was among the rescued students but that she had not seen him yet. She added that she was very excited to see him and the other children back home.
“The government did well by rescuing the children, but we want to see them because, as parents, seeing the children will make us happy,” she said.
