AT least, 200 students of an Islamiyya school located at Tegina in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State have been abducted.
One person was said to have been shot dead while another was critically injured after gunmen carried out the kidnap operation at about 4:30pm on Sunday.
A resident of the area, Zayyad Mohammed, confirmed the incident to The PUNCH.
Though the details of the attack were still sketchy, Mohammed said Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School, where the incident took place, was built by a retired Immigration officer.
Mohammed said, “The Islamiyya school is not the usual Sangaya boarding Islamic citadel, but a conventional one, where parents send their children on a daily basis for the purpose of acquiring Islamic education.”
However, the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Ahmed Matane, said the number of the abducted students had yet to be ascertained.
Matane stated, “Yes, there was an attack at the Islamiyya school, but we do not yet have the exact number of students that were abducted. We are in touch with parents in the area to know those whose children were abducted.”
The SSG, who is the Chairman of the State Security Committee, further revealed that while the attack in Tegina was going on, there were simultaneous attacks in Lavun LGA and some fringes of Mashegu LGA.
While confirming the incidence, the state government in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mary Berje, said, “Conventional Islamiyya students of Salihu Tanko Islamic School, Tegina in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger St ate, have been abducted.
“The number of abducted students of the Islamiyya school has yet to be confirmed as the very little ones that cannot go through the bush path are released.
“However, two persons were shot in the cause of the attack with one person confirmed dead while the other person is critically injured.
“The state government is still gathering detailed security report on the attack so as to take necessary measures to secure the release of those kidnapped,” it added.
Also confirming the incident, the state Police Command through its PRO, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the bandits attack at Tegina, Rafi LGA.
He said, “On 30/05/2021, at about 1500hrs, bandits on board motorcycles in their numbers invaded Tegina town, Rafi LGA, shooting indiscriminately and abducted a yet to be ascertained number of children at Salihu Tanko Islamic school, Tegina. The bandits shot one person dead in the process.”
He added that, the Command immediately mobilised all tactical teams, including Operation Puff 2 to the location for rescue of the victims.
Copyright PUNCH.
