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Greenfield: Nigerian Government Is Working With Kaduna Government To Bring Back Abducted Students — Presidency

The Presidency said they share the anguish of parents of the abducted students.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has stated that it is working through the military and intelligence agencies to support the Kaduna State Government in the rescue of the kidnapped Greenfield University students.

The development follows several calls on the government to aid in the release of the abducted students, whose lives are under threat.

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Gunmen on April 20, had stormed Greenfield University located along the Kaduna–Abuja Highway in Chikun Local Government Area and kidnapped several students.

The kidnappers have since killed five of the students and threatened to kill 17 of them still in captivity if a ransom of N100 million and 10 motorcycles are not delivered to them.

The Presidency, in a tweet on Tuesday, said they share the anguish of parents of the abducted students.

“We deeply share the anguish of the parents of the abducted Greenfield University students. The Federal Government through the military & intelligence agencies is working to support the Kaduna State Govt to bring this tragic saga to an end with no further loss of innocent life.

“We will ensure that good triumphs over evil, & that all of the bandits & criminals terrorising innocent lives & communities are brought to book. This is a time for all Nigerians to unite, regardless of religion, ethnicity or partisan affiliation—against a common, dastardly enemy,” Presidency tweeted on Tuesday night.

One of the kidnapped students was released on Tuesday, May 4, despite threats by the bandits to kill the remaining 17 students in their custody if their parents and the state government failed to pay a ransom of N100 million.

The mother of the student, Lauritta Attahiru confirmed the release of her son to Channels Television, on Tuesday.

She however refused to give details of how her son was released and whether a ransom was paid or not.

Some of the parents however claim that the mother negotiated and paid ransom to the bandits privately before her son was released.

Parents of the victims have continued to negotiate with bandits despite the government insisting that they won’t negotiate with bandits.

It was gathered that the affected parents had raised N55 million for the rescue of their children but the abductors claimed they had used the money to feed the victims.

Meanwhile, the leader of the bandit who surfaced in a video on Monday, said there were 17 students in their custody, comprising 15 female and two male students. 

It was learnt that one of them is a grandchild of the late 18th Emir of Zazzau, Shehu Idris, whom he identified as Hamza.

Topics
Terrorism