Presidency, Masari confused over missing students after bandits’ school attack in Katsina

The Presidency and Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State may have been thrown into a mix-up over the missing students of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, after bandits struck on Friday night. A staff of the school was gathered to have revealed that 884 students were registered to be present in the school when the bandits attacked. Security operatives after intervention disclosed that 200 students returned safe after fleeing the school during the attack. Thus, 684 are yet to return and the security operatives are in search of them on rescue operation.

Meanwhile, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Sunday confirmed that 333 students are missing after the bandits attack on Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State. But the presidency said that 10 students were kidnapped by the bandits.

Governor Masari had, however, told a Federal Government delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, on Sunday, that the school has a population of 839 students, adding that victims kidnapped cut across the state with the boarding school housing all children from all parts of the state and outside the state.

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

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

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

There is clearly confusion over the actual figure of the students kidnapped by the bandits in the Friday operation.

The Minister of Defence, General Bashir Magashi, gave an order to the armed forces, the police and other security agencies to move faster to ensure the speedy rescue of the students. The security operatives have since embarked on rescue missions in the state and the environs.

The Defence Minister directed that bandits must not be allowed to rest for a moment, adding that it is high time to declare the bandits as terrorists to encourage people to sit up.

“Today we are here also to sympathise with you over the recent abduction of secondary school students which is a more or less ruthless exercise conducted to temper with the education of the students,” he said.

“With the brief we received from the sister security agencies in the state, this task will be very simple to accomplish.

“Within the next few hours, we will ensure that these people are back without any collateral damage to the people of Katsina State.

“All hands are on deck to ensure we accomplish our tasks within the armed forces and the police. I was here around August on the same kind of mission to sympathise with the government regarding the farmers/herders clashes,” the minister declared.