Aminu Masari

The Governor of Katsina state, Aminu Masari has given an update on the abduction of schoolboys in the state.

The governor on Sunday said 333 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara are yet to be found.

He made the disclosure in Katsina State when the Minister of Defence, Gen. Salihi Magashi (retd.), led the nation’s service chiefs on a sympathy visit to the state over Friday’s bandits’ abduction of the students of the school.

Those on the entourage included the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency.

The governor said, “The children so far kidnapped cut across the state because the boarding school houses all children from all parts of the state and some even from outside the state.

“It has a population of 839 and so far we are yet to account for 333 students. We are still counting because more are coming out from the forest and we are calling those parents that have phone numbers to find out whether or not their children have gone back home.

“Based on the available record we have, we are still searching for 333 students through either the forest or their parents to ascertain the actual number that has been kidnapped.”

Masari said the bandits were yet to contact either the government or anybody on the abduction.

He assured that efforts were being made to ensure the students’ release.

He said, “We, as a government, are yet to be contacted by any group or person responsible for the kidnap of the students.”

General Magashi, in his response, assured the state of the Federal Government’s assistance.

He said, “I was here around August on the same kind of mission to sympathise with the government regarding the farmers-herders’ clashes. Today, we are here also to sympathise with you over the recent abduction of secondary school students which is a more or less ruthless exercise conducted to temper with the education of the students.”

The meeting later went into a closed-door session.