…kill Police officer, wound another
Gunmen on Thursday morning Federal Government Girls College in Birnin-Yauri, Kebbi State, and abducted an unspecified number of female students, and five teachers.
They also killed a police officer and wounded another in the attack.
The Kebbi Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeleke Adeyinka-Bode, confirmed the incident to journalists on Thursday.
“The truth is that the attack took place, and five teachers have been taken away – four males and one female,” he said.
“But the number of students abducted is not known yet.
“The attack took place around 12pm, and during the crossfire between police and the bandits some students had been injured and one police officer was injured and another one was killed. These are the facts I can give you, for now,” the Police chief said.
He added that the gunmen also killed one police officer, while another was injured in the crossfire between the bandits and the school guards.
It has not been possible to determine the number of students abducted from the school, the Police boss said, explaining that only the principal of the school can give the exact number of students abducted.
“The Principal is not in a good state of mind as I am speaking to you now; because parents have trooped into the school searching for their children. So the principal cannot make proper headcount,” Adeyinka-Bode explained.
A member of the House of Representatives, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, who represents the area, has condemned the abduction, saying it is the latest in a series of attacks on the area by the bandits.
He told journalists in Abuja on the heels of the attack that the people in the area have been living under constant harassment by the bandits.
“A week ago we had another calamity when bandits mentioned by eyewitnesses numbering about 250 to 300, each with AK-47 rifles and using very strong motorcycles, came into my constituency. They had a field day and operated for more than eight hours. Going house to house, room to room, collecting money, handsets, motorcycles, and cattle. That led to a massive influx of internally displaced persons into the headquarters of the Emirate in the town of Yauri,” he narrated.
According to him, Thursday’s attack was a fulfillment of their threat last week to come back after operating there successfully.
“However we were able to convince people and they started going back to their respective areas. But they (bandits) left a message that they would be coming back. Taking it seriously, some people refused to go back, and in the early hours of today, they repeated what they had done earlier and they came into the constituency, sometime around 10.30 am, or thereabouts.
“They were able to have access after strong fights with some security guards, police that are guarding the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, and they made an inroad into the school. They succeeded in kidnapping some teachers and an unaccounted number of students. Some of the students and security men are currently receiving care at the General Hospital, Yauri following gun injuries,” Lawmaker said.
“This is cause for concern and as a representative of the people, I have to come here and make a call on the Federal Government to look at Yauri’s position with its neighboring Niger State. It has direct access to Zamfara State and west of Yauri is the back of River Niger. Our fear is that their major target is to enter Yauri. Now we are calling on the Federal Government to provide adequate security.”
“We have to make it clear that Kebbi State and indeed the Yauri hold a unique position in the food security of this country. Over 90 percent of the land of Yauri is for rice farming. But as of today, no farmer can comfortably go back to his farm and farm and come back to sleep with his eyes closed.”
He declared that the place is now facing an influx of a number of people into Yauri, which has led to a higher rate of internally displaced persons. Consequently, accommodation, feeding, and other logistics are being overstretched, he noted.
“The worst part of it is that a nation can only develop when it is sound, educationally. The so-called Boko Haram we are hearing is almost becoming a reality because parents cannot feel free to send their wards to school for fear of being kidnapped. As it is now, a lot of primary schools in the Emirate in Yauri town are being occupied by IDPs.
“This has a tendency to deter the progress so far achieved by the Kebbi State government in terms of agriculture and in terms of promoting access to education. Healthcare is also being stretched because of the influx of people. The only general hospital we have is being occupied by IDPs. So we are in a state of disarray and definitely, we have to call on the Federal Government so something can be done immediately to safeguard the lives and property of our people.”
