15 kidnapped Tsangaya students in Sokoto regain freedom

The 15 students kidnapped at a Quranic school in Sokoto State have been released.

The students were kidnapped in Gidan Bakuso hamlet, Gada Local Government Area, while fleeing to their rooms to avoid a communal attack two weeks ago.

It was reported that the victims were kidnapped hours before the graduation ceremony of the state’s Community Guard Corps, which was established to combat banditry.

Liman Abubakar, the proprietor of the Tsangaya school in Gidan Bakuso, claimed that the bandits assaulted the town around 1 a.m., shot one person, and kidnapped a lady.

“As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms and they kidnapped many of them.

“We have so far counted 15 who are missing and we are still searching for more”, he said.

Abubakar had said it was not the first time the village was attacked by bandits.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Security, Colonel Ahmed Usman, rtd, said the news of the abduction was received during the graduation ceremony of the Sokoto State Community Guard Corps.

“I told my governor about it and we quickly notified heads of security operatives”, he said.

The member representing Gada-East Constituency at the state House of Assembly, Kabiru Dauda, had said he received a call from the village around 2am that there was an invasion by bandits.

“I reached out to the local government authorities and security agencies and I am sure they are doing something about it,” the lawmaker had said.

It was also gathered that bandits attacked and killed three persons, including the village head, at Turba village in Isa Local Government Area of the state.