Thirteen students and three staff members of the privately-owned university were released by 2pm Saturday afternoon at a location along the Kaduna- Abuja highway and media reports has it that the bandits collected millions of naira in ransom and eight new motorcycles.
Meanwhile, parents and family members of the remaining kidnapped students and workers of the Greenfield University, Kaduna State, said they were forced to sell their property to raise ransom as the remaining victims regained freedom, Punch reports.
Recall that fourteen students were abducted 20th April this year when bandits broke into the University, killing a staff and abducting twenty students and three staff members. Three of the students were subsequently, found dead 23rd April and two of them were again found dead 25th April 2021 in a village close to the school, one of the students was earlier released after ransom was paid for his release by his parents.
Prior to the release of the students, it was in the news that at a meeting held in Kaduna in April, their parents had appealed to the government and public to help with the N800 million ransom demand from the kidnappers even when the Kaduna State Government and the Federal Government have discouraged ransom payments to bandits.
However, in a statement on May 5, President Muhammadu Buhari had appealed for “the release of the students of the Greenfield University.”
In what can be termed parent-police-face-off, Channels reports that “an altercation ensued between parents and the police near Olams farms where the rescued students were kept after their release.
“As the police attempted to take the students to their office, the angry parents resisted, and blocked the bus conveying the students before insisting on taking their children home without any police escort.
“The angry parents argued that having paid over N150 million ransom and bought eight motorcycles for the bandits to secure the release of their children, there was no reason why the security agencies would take custody of them.
Saturday Punch gathered that the bandits dropped the 13 students and three staff of the university around a company from where the security operatives guarding the multi-million dollar firm called the police. Trouble started when the company security refused the parents who came to pick up their children, insisting that the students would be handed to the police. The angry parents broke into the company and took their children away amid jubilation.
Channels reports that “El-Rufai welcomes release. According to a statement signed by the State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, Governor Nasir El-Rufai welcomed the news of the students’ release, and conveyed solace and encouragement to them following their harrowing ordeal. He assured them that the bitterness of the last few weeks, now over, would set the backdrop for positive achievements in their lives, as he wished them well for the future.”
The students' release comes 40 days after they were abducted.
No comments:
Post a Comment