Six of the 24 students abducted in the early hours of Friday (today) from the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State have been rescued.
Following the bandits’ invasion on the Sabon-Gida hamlet of Bungudu Local Government Area, a high military source close to the Commander of 1 Brigade Nigerian Army, Gusau, verified this to our correspondent.
He stated that the Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Sani Ahmed, is now conducting the operation in the forest bordering the Tsafe Local Government Area (LGA) of the state alongside other security agencies.
According to the source, some bandits were neutralised during the ongoing operation, and some firearms were recovered.
Earlier, a student of the school, who asked to be anonymous for security reasons, told media that over 24 schoolmates, mostly ladies, were abducted during the attack.
A resident of Sabon-Gida identified as Nazeer Sabon-Gida also confirmed that the gunmen invaded the community around 3 am and started shooting indiscriminately.
According to him, three students’ hostels were attacked and all the students in the hostels were taken away by the bandits.
In a related development, the Zamfara State Police Command confirmed the abduction of the students.
The spokesperson for the command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, in a telephone conversation on Friday said the command has yet to confirm the number of the students abducted.
He also confirmed that the rescue operation was ongoing.