The story of abduction of Madarasatul Nurul Islam, an Islamic school in Maikujeri, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, is actually a frying pan to fire story.
This is because the pupils were actually working on a tipoff that the bandits were coming for them, and were trying to escape when they ended up running into their arms.
This second version of the abduction case comes from the head teacher of the Islamic school, Madarasatul Nurul Islam, located in Maikujeri, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, Aminu Mallam Bako.
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He said the the 15 pupils abducted by bandits on Saturday ran into the gunmen while returning home from his farm.
“We were on the farm when we received information that the bandits were approaching. I immediately asked the children to return home.
“From the farm to the house was just a distance of two kilometres. The children were already close to home when they ran into the bandits,” the head teacher reportedly Told Daily Trust.
According to him, the children were already close to home, about two kilometres from the farm, when
“We were on the farm when we received information that the bandits were approaching. I immediately asked the children to return home.
“From the farm to the house was just a distance of two kilometres. The children were already close to home when they ran into the bandits,” the head teacher said.
“We are traumatised. I have been crying because they are my pupils and they fell into this problem because of me as their teacher.
“Their mothers have also been crying for the past three days. I am not at ease,” he said.
He said the bandits had contacted the school to find out whether the children attended a government school offering Western education.
According to him, the abductors claimed they had been told that the school belonged to the government, a claim he said was incorrect.
He added that the gunmen insisted that the school was a government institution offering Western education despite explanations that it was a community-owned Islamic school.
Bako said the school had yet to receive any substantial intervention from the state or local governments, apart from a sympathy visit by the council chairman and the Divisional Police Officer.
He called on the authorities to take immediate steps to rescue the pupils, saying the school management had shut down the institution following the abduction.
