Matawalle promises safe return of 19 kidnapped Zamfara students

 Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, has vowed to rescue 19 students and one staff member of  College of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Bakura kidnapped by bandits.

Three other staff members kidnapped during an invasion of the school late on Sunday, August 15, 2021 regained their freedom following the intervention of security operatives.

A police man and two civilian security guards were killed during the attack that's another in a long line of school attacks across the northern region.

Matawalle said in a statement on Monday, August 16 that he was saddened by the abduction of the students by 'recalcitrant bandits'.

He directed security operatives in the state to do 'everything humanly possible' to rescue all the hostages unhurt.

The governor also appealed to residents to remain calm and cooperate with authorities to restore normalcy to the area.

He called on them to intensify prayers for an end of all criminal activities in the state and the country.

Gunmen similarly kidnapped 317 students from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in the Talata Mafara LGA of Zamfara in February. They were released over a week later.

Hundreds of students have also been kidnapped from schools in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Edo, Benue, and Plateau since last December, a huge spike following in the footsteps of high-profile abductions in Chibok, Borno in 2014, and Dapchi, Yobe in 2018.

A majority of the students have been released after negotiations between the government and the kidnappers, but hundreds currently remain in captivity, and some killed by their captors.

The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, earlier this month begged the kidnappers to leave learning institutions alone, noting that their activities are causing a huge setback for education.

Nigeria has the highest population of out-of-school children globally, and the constant attacks on schools have damaged government efforts to improve enrolment figures.