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Tag: Katsina

  • Buhari under fire for visiting his cows; shuns families of hundreds of schoolboys kidnapped in Katsina

    Buhari under fire for visiting his cows; shuns families of hundreds of schoolboys kidnapped in Katsina

    A video showing President Muhammadu Buhari visiting his cows in Daura Katsina State, barely hours after hundreds of boys were abducted by bandits has sparked an uproar on social media.

    Recall that students of Government Boys Science Secondary School in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State were abducted by gunmen who came on motorbikes around 11 pm on Friday night.

    In the alleged video posted on social media on Monday by Sahara Reporters Buhari is seen with his aides in a cattle ranch..

    Watch video:

    The video comes barely a day after Buhari, who is also in Katsina State, failed to visit the school but rather sent a delegation from Abuja to visit the school and sympathise with the families of the victims.

    Sahara Reporters Publisher, Omoyele Sowore, said it was obvious that Buhari was not competent and it was time for him to go.

    “600 Students got kidnapped in Katsina and he ignored them instead the lifeless President went to visit his cows! The moment we get it that the Buhari regime can’t be redeemed we will come to the inevitable conclusion that #Buharimustgo,” Sowore tweeted.

  • Katsina attack: Presidency counters Gov Masari, says 10 not 333 schoolboys were kidnapped by bandits

    Katsina attack: Presidency counters Gov Masari, says 10 not 333 schoolboys were kidnapped by bandits

    Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, has disagreed with Katsina State Governor, Bello Masari, over the number of boys abducted from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State.

    Masari, on Sunday, while briefing a Federal Government delegation led by Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Magashi (retd.), said, “The children so far kidnapped cut across the state because of the boarding school houses all children from all parts of the state and some even from outside the state.

    “It has a population of 839, and so far, we are yet to account for 333 students. We are still counting because more are coming out from the forest and we are calling those parents that have phone numbers to find out whether or not their children have gone back home.”

    However, BBC Hausa Service, in a bulletin on Sunday, quoted Shehu as saying only ten boys are with the bandits.

    The BBC Hausa bulletin read, “The Government of Nigeria has said its security forces have surrounded the location where gunmen have kept schoolchildren abducted from a secondary school in Katsina State.

    “Spokesman for the President, Mallam Garba Shehu told the BBC only ten children were remaining in the hands of the gunmen according to their colleagues who escaped from the gunmen.

    The number is below figures released by school authorities at the beginning. Garba Shehu said the school children who escaped said 10 of their friends were still with their abductors.”

  • Katsina attack: We are searching for 333 missing students – Gov. Masari

    Katsina attack: We are searching for 333 missing students – Gov. Masari

    Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has disclosed that over 300 students are missing following an attack on Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina.

    Recall TheNewsGuru (TNG) had earlier reported that Masari was unsure about the numbers of students who were unaccounted for after the attack.

    However, when he (MAsari) received a federal government delegation led by Babagana Monguno, national security adviser, on Sunday, the governor said 333 students are still missing.

    “Based on the available records, we are still searching for 333 students through either the forest or their parents to ascertain the actual number that have been kidnapped,” the governor said.

    “We are still counting because more are coming out from the forest, and we are calling those parents that have phone numbers to find out whether or not their children have gone back home.

    “As a government, we are yet to be contacted by any group or person responsible for the kidnap of the students.”

    Gunmen had invaded the school on Friday night, shooting into the air to scare away people in the area.

    The school is said to have a population of around 800 students, and according to the police, when the gunmen attacked, some of the students scaled the fence to escape.

    On Saturday evening, Garba Shehu, spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, said the armed forces had located the hideout of the bandits in a forest.

    Also, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, ordered the deployment of additional forces to Katsina to assist in rescue operations.

    “The deployment, which includes personnel from the Police Tactical Squads and crack detectives from the Force Intelligence Bureau, will provide investigative support to the Katsina State Police Command,” a statement by Frank Mba on Saturday, read.

    “They are also to work in sync with the military and other law enforcement agents in coordinated efforts aimed at rescuing the students, hunting down the perpetrators and bringing them to book.”

  • Hundreds of Katsina students still missing as Gov Masari says numbers Boko Haram kidnapped unknown

    Hundreds of Katsina students still missing as Gov Masari says numbers Boko Haram kidnapped unknown

    The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has said no one can yet ascertain the number of students who were kidnapped after bandits raided a secondary school in the state.

    Masari said this when he spoke with newsmen on Saturday.

    The initial figure being bandied on the social media put the number of kidnapped students from Government Science Secondary School in Ƙanƙara Local Government Area of the state on Friday night at over 600.

    However, Masari told newsmen that no fewer than 426 students had been counted as safe, with the management of the school saying 884 students were present at the time of the attack.

    Masari said: “This incidence has gone beyond imagination.

    “For us, it’s highly worrisome and disturbing.

    “I am assuring parents and guardians of these children that – we couldn’t say that we are more disturbed than them – but to be rest assured that we share the same worry with them because we know that we have the responsibility to protect their lives and their health.”

    Masari, who further told newsmen that all was being done to secure the release of the students, said he has been given assurance by the Nigerian Army that something positive would happen.

    He said: “And by God’s grace, we will do all that it takes to rescue the entire abducted students.

    “I urge you people in the name of Allah and his prophet to please remain patient and intensify prayers.

    “This is because sharing blames and all sorts of abuses are not the solution in this trying time.

    “Honestly speaking, we are not enjoying what is taking place and we are not executing what we are supposed to do when it comes to the issue of protection of lives of our people.

    “We want to assure you that we will do all what is possible on the school children as we have directed for the immediate closure of all schools in the state and that all students should be taken back home.”

  • Abduction of Katsina students under Buhari’s nose perplexing – PDP

    Abduction of Katsina students under Buhari’s nose perplexing – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as perplexing the abduction of yet-to-be ascertained number of students from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State while President Muhammadu Buhari, a son of the soil is around.

    The opposition party said it was perplexing that gunmen attacked the school and abducted the students on Friday, the same day the President arrived in Katsina for a week-long visit.

    The party’s position was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.

    PDP in the statement titled, ‘Terrorism: Account For 600 Kidnapped Katsina Students, PDP Tells Buhari’, condemned the abduction on Friday and asked the president to immediately ensured the students were freed.

    It partly read, “The PDP, standing with the entire Katsina people, charges President Muhammadu Buhari, as the commander-in-chief, who promised to lead from the front, to account for the abducted students, as the large-scale abduction happened a few hours after the President and his security machinery took over the state.

    “Our party holds as perplexing that at a time the people of Katsina should have heaved a sigh of relief because of his presence, the abduction happened right under Mr. President’s nose; in his home state, where he had gone holidaying.”

    The statement further read, “The PDP demands that President Buhari should immediately quit his needless holidaying in Daura and go in search of, and rescue the abducted students, particularly having earlier admitted that issue of security is his exclusive responsibility.

    “The PDP, working in concert with other patriotic Nigerians will not rest until President Buhari finds and returns each of these students.

    “The PDP urges Nigerians to remain alert and prayerful as the nation wades through this nightmare under an insensitive, inept and uncoordinated administration.”

  • JUST IN: Buhari breaks silence on kidnap of Katsina students

    JUST IN: Buhari breaks silence on kidnap of Katsina students

    President Muhammadu Buhari revealed on Saturday that the bandits who attacked students of Kankara Government Science Secondary School have been located.

    He said they have been located at their hideout at Zango-Paula Forest in the area and an operation is apace to free the abducted students.

    According to a briefing he received from Governor Aminu Masari and the Army Chief of Staff, General Tukur Buratai, the military, supported by air power has located the bandits’ enclave.

    “There has been exchange of fire in an ongoing operation”, Buhari said in a statement issued by Garba Shehu, the SSA media.

    Buhari, who arrived Katsina on a week-long visit, strongly condemned the attack on the school.

    He charged the army and the police to go after the attackers to ensure that no student gets missing or harmed, according to a statement by Garba Shehu, the SSA media.

    The President urged the school authorities to carry out an audit of the population of the students following shootings in and around the school that sent hundreds of them fleeing and scrambling over perimeter walls.

    Parents who rushed to the school and removed their children and wards were also required to notify the school and police authorities in order to have a full account of the school population.

    “I strongly condemn the cowardly bandits’ attack on innocent children at the Science School, Kankara. Our prayers are with the families of the students, the school authorities and the injured,” said President Buhari.

    He pledged more support the police and military as they contend with the terrorists and bandits.
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    Police said so far, no student casualty has been reported.

    The President has directed the reinforcement of security of all schools in line with the safe schools policy of the administration.

  • JUST IN: Despite Buhari’s presence, bandits invade Katsina school, kidnap students

    JUST IN: Despite Buhari’s presence, bandits invade Katsina school, kidnap students

    Bandits, ignoring the presence of President Muhammad’s Buhari in Daura, Katsina state, have attacked the Government Science Secondary School in Ƙanƙara abducting a yet to be specified number of students said to be in the hundreds.
    The school is said to have a student population of 800 but 200 of them in JSS 3 were said to have gone on vacation before the attack.

    Hint of the attack first came into limelight when activist former Senator Shehu Sani tweeted about it in the morning today.

    Kankara lies south of the state, about 197km from Daura.

    The school principal, Malam Usman Abubakar, who confirmed the story said the bandits were armed with sophisticated weapons.

    He said the attacked happened around 10.15 pm on Friday, and that the horrible operation that lasted about an hour.

    Abubakar revealed that the bandits on arrival at the school entrance, broke the school gate, shot one of the policemen at the gate on the leg.

    The other policeman escaped, while the injured policeman is now hospitalised.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the attack came less than six hours after President Muhammadu Buhari arrived his home state for a week-long private visit.

    He last visited in December last year.

    Masari shuts down boarding schools

    Meanwhile, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has ordered for the immediate closure of all boarding secondary schools in the state.
    The directive follows the abduction of an unspecified number of students of the Government Science Secondary School Kankara by bandits in the night on Friday.
    The Governor spoke on Saturday morning when, accompanied by his Deputy Alhaji Mannir Yakubu and other government officials, he visited the state school, where he met with the school officials, some parents, traditional and religious leaders as well as security officials.
    The Governor, who could not control his emotions , pleaded with the people to be patient and show restraint and understanding, assuring them that government will do every necessary things to ensure the release of all the abducted students. He said the already security officials, constituting the military, the police and the Department of State Security had swung into action and are on the trail of the abductors.
    Governor Masari further assured that both governments at federal and state levels were doing their best to bring an end to banditry and other debilitating criminal activities in the state.
    According to him, the government is very firm in its resolve to be ruthless in any engagement with the bandits.

  • 99 percent of bandits terrorizing Katsina from Zamfara – Masari

    99 percent of bandits terrorizing Katsina from Zamfara – Masari

    Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has declared that 99 percent of bandits presently terrorizing Katsina are based in Zamfara state, saying urgent attention of relevant security agencies and key players must be drawn to address the situation

    Masari who made the above declaration while speaking with a Journalist at his country home in Kafur, shortly after inspecting a land earmarked for an Airstrip, in Funtua, Katsina state, by the Nigerian Air force, also noted that three major local Government Areas namely: Sabwa, Dandume and Faskari sharing common boundaries with Zamfara, have now turned into an epicenter for banditry activities

    The Governor further insisted that the bandits usually kill, kidnap and rape innocent Katsina citizens before moving to their enclaves in adjoining forests of Zamfara State, adding that these bandits must be eliminated by security personnel before peace will be restored in Katsina state.

    He said’’ the nefarious activities of bandits from Zamfara had truncated the efforts of my administration in restoring normalcy in the state’’.

    “The only places that we are having problems are Faskari, Sabwa, and Dandume Local Governments but all other local governments in the state, especially Jibia, Batsari, Safana and Danmusa there is relative peace

    “From the reports, I receive every morning if you find any case of rustling or kidnapping is mostly around Faskari, Sabwa, and Dandume. We have been complaining to the military authority to take full control of Gurbi-Gidan Jaja-Kaura Namoda areas of Zamfara State.

    “Unless security is fully reinforced in these areas, being the danger zone where most of the bandits live and move freely, we cannot secure Katsina without security in Zamfara, because 99 percent of all the attacks and kidnappings happening in Katsina were from Zamfara.”

    Meanwhile, Masari has commended the Nigerian Air Force, for their decision to cite their Air Strip in Funtua saying it will go a long way in tackling the spate of banditry activities affecting economic lives in Dandume, Faskari, and Sabwa Local Government Areas, including some parts of Zamfara, Kaduna and the Niger States.

  • Bandits release 26 abducted Katsina girls to Zamfara governor

    Bandits release 26 abducted Katsina girls to Zamfara governor

    Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle on Sunday said dialogue with bandits was still relevant just as he secured the release of 26 minor Katsina State girls from bandits without the payment of any ransom.

    The girls who were kidnapped by bandits in the Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State were brought into the bushes of Zamfara State but were discovered by the government and released through negotiations by the Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs Abubakar Dauran who is in constant dialogue on behalf of the state with bandits on the need to embrace peace and live a normal life.

    Governor Matawalle, who received the rescued girls said his administration would not abandon the peace dialogue with bandits as firepower alone could not solve the problem of banditry in the state.

    “This is a testimony to our vision for engaging the bandits in dialogue. For those who believe we are wrong to dialogue with the bandits, the securing of these minors who are all girls, unhurt, is true, priceless”.

    The 26 rescued girls, whose ages range between 8 and 12 were medically checked and provided with new clothes. Governor Matawalle ordered for their safe return to Katsina State.

    This latest rescue brings the total number of those released by bandits in the last one week to more than 40.

  • Gunmen kill nine, kidnap several in fresh attack on Katsina communities

    Gunmen kill nine, kidnap several in fresh attack on Katsina communities

    Gunmen suspected to be Fulani bandits have attacked two communities in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

    According to Katsina Post, the communities attacked are Tsauwa and Gandu.

    No fewer than nine persons have been killed by the bandits while numerous others were left injured and many more kidnapped.

    Recall that Tsauwa Village was ransacked by bandits months ago in a revenge attack.

    Killings and kidnapping for ransom have continued in Katsina despite security reinforcement in the state.