Twelve days after gunmen stormed their institution and kidnapped them, the abducted students of the College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Bakura in Zamfara State, have regained their freedom.
Governor Muhammad Bello Matawalle, who broke the good news to newsmen in Gusau, the capital, said the students were released on Friday through the help of some unnamed repentant bandits.
“Today, based on our dialogue and reconciliation, we used the repentant bandits to secure the release of these students,” the obviously elated governor said.
“They have worked hard for almost 10 days. They are out day and night to make sure that they convinced those criminals to release those students and their teachers. (Alhamdulillah), today they are in our midst”.
According to a report monitored on Channels Television, the traumatized students who were conveyed to the Government House in Gusau in a bus under heavy security escort were received by the governor and top officials of the state.
Armed bandits, had, on August 15, 2021, stormed the College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Bakura, and kidnapped 20 people comprising 15 students, four staff members, and a driver.
The gunmen, who killed two watchmen and a police officer during the attack, demanded a ransom of N350 million to secure the release of the abducted students. But Governor Matawalle categorically declared, Friday, that no ransom was paid for the students’ release.
Meanwhile, the governor has ordered the immediate closure of all major markets in the state as well as filling stations in local areas. He also banned the sale of fuel in jerry cans.
