- The attack has drawn condemnation from many, including President Muhammadu Buhari
- Eko Hot Blog gathers that 426 had been counted safe after the attack while, according to the Police, another 200 returned safely on Saturday.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has sent more police officers to Katsina State to support the ongoing search and rescue operation following an attack on a secondary school by armed bandits which has many feared abducted.
A statement by Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, said: “The deployment is sequel to the unfortunate attack on Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State by heavily armed men on 11th December 2020 which left some of the students missing.”
The additional officers sent to the state are personnel from the Police Tactical Squads and crack detectives from the Force Intelligence Bureau.
They are expected to provide investigative support to the Katsina State Police Command.
“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,” Mba added.
Police investigations so far reveal that one of the attackers was killed and a policeman injured during the attack.
Mba said: “The exact number of students missing cannot be ascertained at the moment as massive operations including investigations, search and rescue exercise are still ongoing.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has also condemned the attack and, in reaction, directed that security be reinforced around all schools in line with the safe schools policy of his administration.
Read also: 600 Students Kidnapped As Gunmen Invade School In Katsina
“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,” a statement issued by Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying.
The statement also claimed that the military has found the bandits’ location and are in the process of retrieving the abducted students.
It read in part: “In the latest briefing received by the President from Governor Aminu Bello Masari, with whom he has been in touch, and the Army Chief of Staff, General Tukur Buratai, the military, supported by airpower has located the bandits’ enclave at Zango/Paula forest in Kankara and there has been exchange of fire in an ongoing operation.”
Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, who visited the school after the attack said no one can state specifically the number of students who were kidnapped. As at the time of his visit, he said 426 students had been counted safe.
The governor appealed for calm and prayers, pledging that all efforts will be made to bring the students back safely.
However, the Principal of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina, Usman Abubakar and the State’s Police spokesperson, Gambo Isah, confirmed that an additional 200 Students who fled for safety during the attack returned safely on Saturday.
“There was opportunity that our policemen engaged the Bandits in a gun duel. Many of the students escaped from the school. So, this morning the DPO found over 200 of the students and returned them back to the school. We are still counting the figures in order to ascertain whether or not actually the Bandits were able to kidnap any of the students,” Isah said.
The Katsina state government has since shutdown all boarding schools in the state for security reasons.
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