Barely 12 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari said the Federal government would not give amnesty to criminal bandits, over 200 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Talata-Mafara local government area of Zamfara state, have been abducted.
The Commissioner of Security and Home Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Dauran, who confirmed the incident on Friday, said security agents had been been mobilized to pursue the bandits.
“I can confirm to you now that we have sadly received the report on the abduction of the students of GGSS, Jangebe and right now, am on my way to the school.
“At this moment, l cannot say how many students were taken away by the gunmen until l get there but we have already mobilized security men and members of the vigilantatè who are now in pursuit of the abductors,” he said.
A source in the school said the bandits went to the school at about 2 am shooting in the air before kidnapping some of the students.
“Gunmen in their hundreds invaded the town around 2am of Friday, shot sporadically in the air to scare the residents before coming into the school.
“After taking away most of the students, we rounded up those that escaped or hid from the bandits and conducted a census where we counted 54 students and we are still searching to see if we can get more,” he said.
Another source, Haliru Jangebe said the local vigilantè, who tried to repel the invaders were over powered.
“The bandits were too many and they all seemed to be carrying heavy arms as we heard gunshots from all parts of the town and when the shots stopped, we heard that the students had been taken away,” he said.