AGAIN, Hundreds Of Boys Missing After Bandit attack On School In Kankara, Katsina

Hundreds of boys are missing after bandits armed with assault rifles attacked a secondary school in Nigeria’s north-western Katsina state late on Friday.

The gunmen stormed the Government Science secondary school in Kankara district at about 9.40pm, and police at the scene returned fire, allowing some students to run for safety, police spokesman Gambo Isah said in a statement.

Police said they were working with the army and air force to determine how many pupils were missing or kidnapped, and to find them. One officer was shot and wounded in the exchange of fire with the gang, they said.

Hundreds of boys missing after bandit attack on school in Kankara, Katsina
Hundreds of boys missing after bandit attack on school in Kankara, Katsina
The attackers arrived on motorbikes and started shooting into the air, causing people to flee, witnesses said.

They targeted the Secondary School – where more than 800 students are said to reside – in Katsina state on Friday evening.

There were chaotic scenes at the school on Saturday as desperate parents and security personnel gathered to search for about half of the school’s 800 students who were still missing, one parent and a school employee told Reuters.

KATSINA POLICE COMMAND DIARY

Good morning, Gentlemen of the Press, yesterday, 11/12/2020 at about 21:40hrs, Bandits in their numbers, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked Government Science secondary school, Kankara.

The policemen on duty also responded to the attack and engaged them in a gun duel which gave the students opportunity to scale the fence of the school and run for safety. The Dpo reinforced the policemen on duty with Armoured Personnel Carrier, (APC) which forced the hoodlums to retreat back into the forest.

One Inspector sustained a gunshot wound and was taken to the hospital and is responding to treatment. In the course of investigation, the DPO rescued over two hundred students back into the school compound.

The police, Nigerian Army, and Nigerian Air Force are working closely with the school authorities to ascertain the actual number of the missing and/or kidnapped students while search parties are assiduously working with a view to find and/or rescue the missing students.

It will be too early to say at this particular moment the actual number of students that have been kidnapped or missing.

PPRO

SP GAMBO ISAH

POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

Katsina, the home state of Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, is plagued by violent bandits who regularly attack local people and kidnap for ransom. Attacks by Islamist militants are common in north-eastern parts of the country.

Buhari himself is currently in the state, as he went there recently for a 1 week break.

Violence and insecurity across Nigeria have enraged citizens, particularly after scores of farmers were killed – some beheaded – by Islamist militants in the north-eastern Borno state late last month.

Hundreds of boys missing after bandit attack on school in Kankara, Katsina
General Muhammadu Buhari, who arrived on Friday for a week in his home village some 200km (125 miles) from Kankara, was scheduled to brief the national assembly on the security situation last week, but cancelled the appearance without official explanation.

On Saturday, the military said it had located the gunmen’s hideout in a forest and exchanged gunfire with them.

The outcome was unclear but officials said there were no reports of students being injured.