Academic work has been suspended and the school vacated while the town has experienced uncertain tranquility after the school boys were abducted.
Days after over 300 students of the Government Science Secondary School (GSSS) in Kankara, Katsina state where kidnapped, some parents of the missing children have staged a protest to demand government’s intervention to help their children.
REPORT AFRIQUE had earlier published a report narrating the unfortunate incident which has generated a lot of reactions as the Katsina state governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has given an update which suggests that over three hundred of the boys are still missing.
Some mothers gathered at the school premises speaking out for their loved ones yet to be seen while prevailing on the government to come to their aid.
“My son is one of those kidnapped and we are appealing to the government to consider our plight by rescuing our children and we equally appeal to our Muslim brothers to assist us with prayers to see that out children are rescued safely”, Umma Haruna, mother of one of the abducted students said.
Ikileema Idris, another mother of an abducted schoolboy said “My son is also among the boys kidnapped, we want government to show the political will as we have heard that security agencies have gone to see them eye to eye and have come back. We want government to provide them with all the facilities they need so they can rescue them for us”.
Meanwhile, there seems to be some hope following the visit of a high-powered Federal government delegation who says the rescue of the Children should be concluded in a few hours.
Academic work has been suspended and the school vacated while the town has experienced tranquility.
Reactions following the abduction of the missing schoolboys in Kankara
Following the unpleasant abduction of over 300 schoolboys of Government Science Secondary school (GSSS) in Kankara, Katsina State, reactions have poured in from various quarters.
Speaking in a gathering of the Federal Government high power delegation, Bashir Magashi, Nigeria’s Minister of Defense noted that the Armed forces, the police and other security agencies must work and move expediently to ensure that the students are rescued safely.
The Katsina state governor, Bello Masari painting a picture of the incident said that over 300 of the boys are yet to be accounted for in a school with a population of 839 boys.
“Children so far kidnapped cut across the state because the school is a boarding school and it houses children from the state and even outside the state”. The governor said.
The coalition of Northern groups have expressed concerns regarding the abduction of the schoolboys describing it as barbaric.
The group noted that if government fails to rescue the students, they will not hesitate to protest on the streets of Katsina State.
The Northwest coordinator of the coalition, Mr. Jamilu Charanchi, also criticised the inability of government to protect the innocent students while also noting that the President’s inability to visit the scene despite being in the state for a private visit is to be condemned in strong terms.
“The situation has today reached an unacceptable level with the attack launched by deadly armed bandits at the Government science secondary school in Kankara and with information reaching us while writing this communique says many students are still missing”, he said.
More attacks in northern part of Nigeria
Reports by the Defense Media Operations also say that there was another attack in another part of Katsina state in Jibia local government area which has claimed one life and leaving three persons kidnapped.
The attacks which was carried out between Saturday and Sunday where a farmer was killed is yet to be confirmed by the police.
In the northeastern state of Borno, the Air Task Force of the Operation Lafiya Dole says it has decimated Boko Haram terrorists and Airstrikes on the fringes of the Sambisa forest in the state.
Operation Lafiya Dole is the Nigerian Army’s troops deployed to fight Boko Haram insurgents and terrorists while restoring peace to all parts of the North East and other parts of the country that are affected by insurgency since 2015.
The coordinator of Defence media operations, Major General John Enenche, says the attacked which resulted in the killing of several Boko Haram insurgents and damage to their structures was conducted after a series of aerial surveillance missions.
Enenche asked that the Air Force delivered accurate hits in the target area.
Meanwhile, the military says its troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have killed more than 20 Boko Haram terrorists and captured arms and ammunition belonging to the terrorists who attempted to attack Askira Uba, a community in Borno state.
The Army says the terrorists who mounted on 15 gun trucks suspected to have come from Sambisa forest approached the town from different directions simultaneously but they were however, faced by troops of the Army with superior firepower with the terrorists suffering huge losses both in men and materials and equipment.
According to the report, one soldier was killed while two others were wounded in the attack.
