Dr. Kabir Adamu, the managing director of Beacon Consulting Limited and a security expert, has described the upsetting event in which bandits surrounded the pupils of LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School during a typical Thursday morning assembly. He claimed that the teachers and pupils from two schools were forced to enter the forest by the bandits, a terrifying sight for the parents of the hapless children.
He identified that the forested area of Kuriga town has strategic proximity to Birnin Gwari and that it creates a corridor leading to Katsina and potentially extending to Zamfara. He hinted at the likelihood that the bandits may have come from these nearby locations.
In light of the historical context of insecurity in Kaduna state, particularly in Birnin Gwari, it’s noteworthy that bandits have consistently exploited the forest to carry out malicious activities. Various reports highlight that the school’s Principal, along with the pupils, was abducted in the recent incident. Despite this distressing situation, Governor Uba Sani has assured the public by pledging a commitment to ensuring the rescue of the 287 abducted pupils.
He said in an interview with Channels TV, ”What we learned is that pupils gathered on Thursday morning to do the usual assembly that they do around 7:30. And just around that same period, Bandits surrounded the school. These pupils from two schools were literally herded into the forest and their parents were watching.
Some of the teachers who were together with them were also herded with them. And now the interesting thing is that the forested part of the town is close to Birnin Gwari. And of course, because it is close to Birnin Gwari, it gives access all the way to Katsina and then probably to Zamfara. The feelers that we are getting at the moment is that it’s very possible that the perpetrators may have come from these locations.”.
