One of the students who was abducted by unknown gunmen in Kankara Secondary school, Katsina Schools, has recounted how he escaped from the bandits.
The 17-year-old student anonymously spoke about his ordeal in an interview with BBC Hausa on Monday morning, December 14 as his father reportedly declined that his son’s name be shared during the meeting.
He said the students first began to hear gunshots and scampered for safety, but said the bandits ran after them.
The student in his words noted;
It was on Friday night around 9:30pm after we came back from our classes for night reading when we heard gunshots. Initially, we thought it was not in our school but later, we began to see them coming towards us. We then began to run and crossed the school fences but they used torch lights on us saying that we should come back.
We thought they were security personnels, but later when they gathered us at one place, we realised they were gunmen. [sic]
He said many of them were abducted but were later counted by the bandits, adding that they were beaten and dragged to the bush amidst thurns and other things.
The victim of the incident explained;
After they have gone to the bush with us they asked one of us to count us and there were 520 pupils.
Because it was in the night I didn’t know where they are taking us to. They beat us and we spent almost the whole night trekking inside the bush despite the thurns. It was around 30 minutes to the morning when they asked us to sleep.
Speaking on how he escaped from the bandits, the student said he hid behind a tree and later crawled out of the bush.
The teenager expressed;
When they asked us to sit down I was then lucky to escape and hide behind a tree. After they move with my colleagues I then started crawling to the main road and to the nearby town.
From then I moved on, I cannot see anything again. I didn’t know where they took my colleagues to. They just moved inside the bush with them.
Read Also: School Attack: Over 200 Students Rescued – Katsina Police
Security operatives, as at the time of filing this report, was working towards securing the release of the young boys.
Many Nigerians and international organizations like United Nations and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund have all called for the immediate and unconditional release of the students.
Read Also: UN Condemns Mass Abduction Of Katsina Schoolboys, Demands Immediate Release
Following the abduction, parents of some the boys kidnapped protested, crying to the government to help rescue their boys.
Below is the interview with BBC Hausa in Hausa language;
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