EKO HOT BLOG reports that bandits responsible for the kidnap of 287 schoolchildren and teachers in Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, are reportedly using their victims as human shields.
Recall that the gunmen, on Thursday morning, abducted 287 pupils and teachers of the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School shortly after the assembly gathering.
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Following the kidnap incident, the state Governor, Uba Sani, who visited the school on Thursday, gave an assurance to the parents and families of the victims that the abducted pupils would be rescued unhurt.
Also, President Bola Tinubu has directed the security agencies to ensure the immediate release of the students and their teachers and also the female IDPs in Borno State.
According to The Nation, Nigerian troops appear to be closing in on the bandits, but the gunmen are said to be using their victims as human shields and collaterals.
Sources told the newspaper that the soldiers fanned out in the forest for the search and rescue operations had located the position of the bandits and their victims.
One of the sources claimed that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, landed in Kaduna on Friday to boost the morale of the troops deployed on the rescue mission.
The source added that the movement of the gunmen and their victims in the forest is said to be rather slow because of the large number of children and their relatively young age.
He said: “What we have gathered is that the bandits have not been able to go far with the abducted pupils because the children among the abductees are slowing down their movement.
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“Now, the troops who went after them have sighted the bandits and the abductees, but the rescue mission is said to be difficult for now because the bandits are using the children as human shields.”
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