The return of 137 kidnapped students and kids from LEA School, Kuriga, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was announced on Sunday morning by the Kaduna State Government and the Defense Headquarters.
The development was confirmed in separate comments released by Director of Defence Media Operations Major General Edward Buba and Governor Uba Sani. Sani did not disclose the number of people that were brought back, but according to Buba, the military saved 61 men and 76 women, for a total of 137.
Part of Buba’s statement alluded to the kidnapping on March 7: “Unconfirmed number of pupils were abducted during the incident.”
FIJ visited the Kuriga LEA school on Sunday, the scene of the attack, and obtained confirmation from security staff regarding the precise numbers. The Kaduna State administration met in the government house during our tour with the chairman of the Chikun Local administration, dignitaries from Kuriga, and other interested parties.
Jibrin Kuriga at Government House
As they only had 137 people under arrest, the authorities questioned the overall number of abductions during that conference. Due to this disagreement, the vice principal of the school was forced to provide attendance records for all junior and senior secondary school pupils who were there that day, even though it turned out that they were all absent. The basic school register was what he lacked. This was a Kuriga registration.
According to sources who spoke with FIJ, the military and government personnel questioned the community representatives at the meeting about the day’s primary school attendance records and requested that the files be supplied the same day from Kuriga. Before they were taken to the government residence at around 12:30 pm, FIJ saw them.
LEA primary school attendance register
Jibrin Kuriga, a local whose 9-year-old daughter was kidnapped, told FIJ that “some persons escaped that day and found their ways out of captivity.” “As there were less than fifty of these escapees, they do not represent the entire number of people who are currently unaccounted for.
“Even the government has not disclosed to us the exact number of people they have rescued or their names,” the source said.
Jibrin attended the government meeting, and following the meeting, FIJ conducted an interview with him at the official residence. Since he was the first person the terrorists spoke to following the kidnapping, he participated in discussions.
Kuriga locals identified him as a peacemaker and go-between for the government, the community, and the militants. They also said that he was the one who alerted them to the N1 billion ransom demand.
“We informed Jibrin that we lack that amount of money,” a few of the parents of the kidnapped students told FIJ. However, he informed us that the terrorists claimed the children were the “children of the government” and that they did not want our money—instead, they wanted N1 billion from the state.
“No! No ransom was paid,” Jibrin responded to FIJ’s question about whether the government had paid a ransom. However, he said he was unaware of the military’s method of saving the kids or whether any arrests had been made. He added that there were other people who had access to the terrorists than him.
In the meanwhile, FIJ verified that 287 people had been kidnapped on March 7.
“Everything is on the list. A security guard informed FIJ, “There were 287 abductees, including students, teachers, and pupils.” The vice principal received this list, which was put together by parents and educators, because the junior secondary school principal was also abducted.
“There has been no statement regarding the principal’s release or rescue from the government or military. The vice principal, who holds the highest status among the personnel, attended the meeting held at the government house. The junior secondary school and senior secondary school were overseen by separate principals at the school. The junior secondary school principal was kidnapped on March 7 and the senior secondary school principal was assassinated in his home earlier this year. There are 287 in all.
According to information obtained by FIJ, the pupils were sent to a military hospital for examinations and would probably be shown to their parents on Monday.
When FIJ attempted to reach Abdallah Yunusah, the governor of Kaduna State’s senior special assistant for media and publicity, his phone remained unanswered. He has also not replied to our SMS message as of the time of publication.