Niger: Pupils ran into bandits after I sent them home, I’ve been crying – Teacher

The head teacher of an Islamic school in Rafi LGA, Niger State, says 15 pupils were abducted by bandits about two kilometres from home after he sent them away from his farm, bringing total victims to 16 including a friend of the pupils, as police say rescue efforts are ongoing.

The head teacher of Madarasatul Nurul Islam in Maikujeri, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, Aminu Mallam Bako, has narrated how 15 pupils were abducted by bandits while returning home from his farm on Saturday, he told Daily Trust on Tuesday.

Bako said he sent the pupils home after learning bandits were approaching the farm, where they were helping him harvest maize. “The children were already close to home when they ran into the bandits,” he said. A friend with the pupils was also taken, bringing the total to 16.

“We are traumatised. I have been crying because they are my pupils and they fell into this problem because of me as their teacher,” he said.

He said the bandits contacted the school to ask whether it was a government school offering Western education, which he said was incorrect. The school has been shut, and he said it had received no substantial government intervention beyond a sympathy visit.

One parent, Mallam Salisu, whose 12-year-old daughter Hajara was abducted, has been hospitalised with trauma.

Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said “joint security rescue efforts are ongoing,” and that six other victims kidnapped on October 28 were rescued unhurt near Pandogari.