The Kaduna state governor, Uba Sani has received the 137 Kuriga school pupils, who were rescued from bandits by the Nigerian military on Sunday.
The school pupils arrived at Kashim Ibrahim House Kaduna at about 2:00 pm in three medium-sized buses and two other minibusses from the 1 Division Nigerian Army Headquarters in Kaduna on Monday.
It would be recalled that the pupils were abducted on March 7, 2024, at a Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School and a Junior Secondary School in Kuriga village, of Chikun local government area Kaduna State.
They were eventually rescued by troops on Sunday morning from an unknown location in Zamfara state, where the bandits had held them for 18 days.
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Parents of the students and leaders of the Kuriga community had earlier trooped to the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Sunday when they heard the news that the abducted children had been freed and were going to be reunited with their families and relations.
However, they were later instructed to wait until Monday before they met them.
Recall that the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), on Sunday, said it rescued 137 students kidnapped from Kuriga in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state in Zamfara.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, said in a statement on Sunday that the military, working with local authorities and government agencies across the country, in a coordinated search and rescue operation rescued the hostages.
“The hostages are the same persons that were abducted from the school at Kuriga in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
“The rescued hostages totalling 137 comprise 76 females and 61 males. They were rescued in Zamfara State and would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.
“Relatedly, it would be recalled that on 21 Mar 24, troops equally rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada LGA of Sokoto State. These hostages were handed over to the Sokoto State Government.
“These efforts demonstrate the armed forces resolve to find other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.
“These efforts would continue until other hostages are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law,” Buba had stated.
