By Ismail Auwal
Unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have attacked and abducted several students of Science Secondary School Kankara; a male boarding school in Katsina state. According to the report, the kidnapping occurred in the late hours of Friday.
Katsina State’s Public Relation Officer, DSP Gambo Isah, has confirmed the report to BBC but could not ascertain the actual number of students abducted as at the time of filing this report.
DSP Isa also said that the police have been able to track and bring back over 200 students that panicked and dispersed into the bush when the gunmen attacked.
He added that the police had exchanged fire with the gunmen, which led to “a stray bullet hitting and injuring a police officer.”
Accordingly, more police have been deployed to the scene and the police are in the process of ascertaining the number of the abducted students.
An eye witness told BBC that many students have been abducted by the gunmen. The witness who prefers to remain anonymous said, “ I was standing by when the gunmen came and passed me, while shooting at the school. They have abducted many students.”
“We have the information that the gunmen are going to attack the school and we informed the police about it, yet nothing was done,” he added.
Reports coming out later have indicated that over 2000 parents have stormed the boarding school to ascertain the safety of their children.
Katsina, which is home to Nigerian President Buhari, is one of the worst affected states by insecurity in northern. Over the past few years, banditry and kidnappings have gotten entrenched in Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna states. This latest daring attack at a boarding school in Katsina reminiscent of the Chibok and Dapchi, came at the time when President Buhari is visiting his hometown Daura to spend a week on a private visit.
