THE NATION
- Security forces close in on abductors following Tinubu’s order
- Kidnappers are cowards, deserve death penalty – First Lady
- Education Minister pleads for safe return of students
- UNICEF kicks, says children deserve to learn in peace
- Two feared killed as bandits attack worshippers during prayers in Birnin Gwari LG
- Two to die by hanging for kidnapping in Taraba
Troops appear to be closing in on the gunmen who abducted 287 school children in Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday, The Nation learnt last night.
But the bandits are said to be using their victims as human shield as the security men advanced on them.
The soldiers, sources said, fanned out in pursuit of the terrorists following a directive by President Bola Tinubu for the children to be rescued at all cost and the brains behind the abduction fished out.
First Lady Remi Tinubu said yesterday that kidnappers should be made to face the capital punishment.
The United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) deplored the abduction, saying schools are supposed to be sanctuaries of learning and growth, not places of fear and violence, while Amnesty International (AI) asked government to take all necessary measures to ensure the safe release and return of abductees to their families.
Sources told The Nation in Kaduna that the troops deployed in the forest for the search and rescue operations had located the position of the bandits and their victims.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, reportedly landed in Kaduna to boost the morale of the troops deployed on the rescue mission, although this could not be immediately confirmed.
The movement of the gunmen and their victims in the forest is said to be rather slow because of the large number of the children and their relatively young age.
The source said: “What we have gathered is that the bandits have not been able to go far with the abducted pupils because the children among the abductees are slowing down their movement.
“Now, the troops who went after them have sighted the bandits and the abductees, but the rescue mission is said to be difficult for now because the bandits are using the children as human shield.”
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