After the successful rescue of the abducted students from Lea Primary and Government Secondary School Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Governor Uba Sani has welcomed 200 police special intervention forces. They are slated for deployment to the community and other susceptible areas in the state.
On Sunday, the governor welcomed the Special Forces at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, joined by his deputy, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, and other high-ranking officials from the Kaduna State Government.
The deployment of these special forces aims to safeguard residents of vulnerable communities in Chikun, Kajuru, Birnin-Gwari, and other areas facing threats from bandits and terrorists.
Governor Sani, addressing the troops, expressed satisfaction at the liberation of the 137 Kuriga students, highlighting that their freedom was achieved through the collective endeavors of various security agencies.
“In the early hours of 24 March 2024, the military working with local authorities and government agencies across the country in a coordinated search and rescue operation rescued the hostages,” Buba said in a statement.
Earlier, a security insider reported that the students had been liberated from a forest and were being escorted to Kaduna’s capital for medical examinations before reuniting with their families.
The phenomenon of abductions at Nigerian schools initially emerged with the jihadist group Boko Haram, who abducted 276 students from a girls’ school in Chibok, northeastern Borno State, a decade ago. Unfortunately, some of these girls remain unreleased.
Last week, the abductors demanded 1 billion naira ($690,000) for the release of the missing children and staff. Despite this, the government reiterated its stance against paying ransoms, a practice that was outlawed in 2022.
However, kidnappings orchestrated by criminal gangs seeking ransom payments have become distressingly common, particularly in northern Nigeria. These incidents not only inflict emotional trauma but also strain families and communities, often leading them to deplete savings and sell assets such as land, cattle, and grains to secure the release of their loved ones.