Six Out Of 137 Rescued Kaduna Students Hospitalized

The Nigerian Military announced yesterday that a total of six Kuriga students who were recently rescued from kidnappers are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

In a statement issued on Monday, the General Officer of 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Mayirenso Saraso, stated that the hospitalized students will be handed over to the state government once they are deemed medically fit by the doctors.

Naija News reports that Saraso revealed this information after delivering 131 Kuriga children to the Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, at the Government House.

The unfortunate incident occurred on March 7, 2024, when bandits invaded the LEA Primary School and Government Secondary School in Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna, and abducted the students.

Fortunately, the military successfully rescued the students in Zamfara State on Sunday morning.

It could be recalled that the bandits had demanded a ransom of N1 billion for their release and set a deadline of March 27.

Nevertheless, the federal government clarified that no ransom was given to secure the students’ freedom.

During a speech at the Kaduna Government House, General Saraso mentioned that a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic strategies were utilized to rescue the students, who were held captive for 16 days.

He also informed me that one of the abducted teachers, Mr Abubakar, passed away while in captivity.

The general further elaborated that 131 students were physically brought to the Government House on Monday, as six were receiving medical treatment at a military facility in the state.

“In all, there were 137 children and one staff member, making 138 persons altogether, that were abducted from the co-located schools on the ill-fated day. But unfortunately, the staff member, Mr Abubakar, is not here with us today because he died while in captivity,” he said.

Naija News reported earlier that the students who were rescued arrived at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna around 2 pm on Monday in six coaster buses owned by the 1 Division Nigerian Army.

The Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor, Sani Kila, along with other top government officials, received the children earlier.

In his remark, Governor Uba Sani expressed his gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and all the security chiefs for rescuing the children.

He emphasized that the safety of the children was the top priority for the state, despite some individuals focusing on the manner of their rescue.

The governor warned against politicising security matters by conflict instigators in the state and the country.

“When this incident happened, most went to the media and speculated that 287 children were abducted. For me, this is senseless and irresponsible. Today, all the children abducted are here with us in our presence,” the state leader said.

As he stated, the safeguarding of the lives and property of its citizens is deemed the utmost duty of the government. He assured that the children would be promptly returned to their parents.

However, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) contradicted this claim, reporting that during their visit to Kuriga, parents and security personnel asserted that a total of 287 students had been kidnapped.

“We have the full list. There were 287 abductees, including pupils, students and teachers,” a security officer told FIJ.

“This list was compiled by parents and teachers and given to the vice principal because even the principal of the junior secondary school was kidnapped,” FIJ was told.