Abductors of Kaduna school students demand N1bn ransom

Abductors of the 287 pupils and staff of a public school in Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State are demanding for N1 billion as ransom for their release.

Thefrontrank reports that the bandits had on Thursday, March 7, 2024 abducted 287 students and the principal of LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The kidnappers were said to have made contact on Tuesday through the principal of the school, Abubakar Isah, who was abducted alongside the students.

The abductors contacted one Aminu Kuriga, a friend of the school’s principal, at about 2. 00 p.m. on Tuesday asking for the amount.

“One of the abductors called, using a private number. He said they were at the northern fringe of Dansadau (a community in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State) if we bring the amount, all the children will be released.

“We briefed the Kaduna State Government about the telephone conversation, they took note and asked us to go”, a resident who pleaded anonymity said.

Kaduna State Government is yet to speak on the development, while calls to the phone number of the state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan, were not connecting.

The spokesperson for the police in the state, Mansir Hassan, said the command was unaware of the development.

The federal government had vowed not to pay ransom to kidnappers in any part of the country.

The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, announced the government decision in Abuja while addressing journalists on Wednesday.