Skip to main content

Abducted kagara schoolchildren and others may regain freedom today - sheik Gumi says

Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, says the abducted staff and students of Government Science College Kagara in Niger state may regain their freedom today, February 21.

Recall that on Wednesday, February 17, armed bandits dressed in military camouflage, stormed the school and abducted 27 students and shot one of the students dead. They also abducted three staff members as well as 12 family members of the staff.

In an interview with Punch, Gumi, who has been in talks with the bandits in the forest, said there is a possibility that the abducted persons might be released today.

“What I hear from (our contact) is that they are still negotiating to release them (schoolchildren and staff members) and hopefully, hopefully, we will get them tomorrow (Sunday), hopefully.

Up till now, they have not been able to identify the boys, who (did the kidnapping). You know they are splinter groups. So, when you are dealing with groups like that in a vast area, with no communication, no road, then it has to be slow. But the main actors are ready to negotiate and stop the kidnapping altogether.”

Asked if the negotiation involved money, Gumi said responded

“No, no; it does not. If it involves money, it means the same criminality. They are saying these are our conditions and we will stop this thing. So, negotiation is ongoing and their demands are being looked into, which are very simple.”

According to Gumi, the bandits are mainly asking the state to release their comrades in the custody of security agencies.

“They have just four people in detention and they are asking for them. They also need assurance and that is why we are calling for amnesty for them. They have been fighting for a long time; it’s been more than eight years.

“These people are fighting for their existence because when they go to town they are lynched, when the police see them on the road, they arrest them; sometimes they are executed extrajudicially, so they took arms against the state. When you give them amnesty, all of them will drop their weapons.”he said 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Billionaire Game of Thrones games tycoon and Netflix producer, Lin Qi, dies at 39 after allegedly being poisoned by a co-worker amid fights among his company's executives'

Lin Qi, chairman and CEO of the Chinese entertainment company Yoozoo Group and a producer on Netflix's upcoming series   The Three-Body Problem , has died after he was allegedly poisoned by a co-worker amid fights among his company's executives'   His company, Yoozoo Group confirmed that Lin died on Christmas Day after having been hospitalized about a week earlier. He was 39.   Police in Shanghai are currently investigating his death, and have reportedly arrested a suspect only named Xu, who Chinese media outlets have identified as Lin's colleague at Yoozoo, Xu Yao.    Local reports also allege that a dispute among Yoozoo executives led to Lin's death after he was allegdlly poisoned via aged pu’er tea.   The China Economic Weekly, a magazine with ties to the People’s Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said that Xu is suspected of having poisoned Lin due to “work disputes” that resulted in the former’s salary being cut. He may have adminis...

Nigerian footballer, Kelvin Odenigbo, drowns in Belarus lake

A Nigerian footballer, Kelvin Odenigbo, playing for FC Vitebsk in Belarus, has been found dead after drowning in a lake. Announcing his passing, the Belarusian Premier League club in a statement released, said the corpse of the 20-year-old striker was found on Saturday, June 5 by the lake Beloye, a tourist destination in the Vitebsk region. “We express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the football player. The football club Vitebsk reports that on June 5, 2021, on the lake Beloye, in the area of the tourist base Verasy, OSVOD employees found the drowned Kelvin Odenigbo. We will publish all official information as it becomes available. We express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the football player, as well as to all the fans of the team,” the statement read Odenigbo joined the club on loan from NAF Rockets FC, the Nigerian National League side, at the end of last season before making the switch permanent for the 11-match-old 2021/22 se...

Boko Haram throws Maiduguri into darkness again, blows up power tower.

Barely 72 hours after electric power was restored in Maiduguri, Borno State, Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday, March 27,  blew up another transmission tower in the city. Premium Times reports that the insurgents planted explosives on each leg of the tower, which they detonated at about 6 a.m. In January, the terrorists struck power installations thrice at a location about 50km from Maiduguri to keep the city in the dark. The power, was however, restored on Wednesday, March 24, after nearly two months of blackout. While reconnecting the installation, three TCN officials were severely injured by a landmine planted by the insurgents. Another official was said to have lost his life after falling off a tower. The city has now been thrown into another darkness following the Saturday morning attack.