Confusing information trail release of kidnapped Zamfara schoolgirls by bandits as Governor denies report
By BASHIR ADEFAKA, Lagos, and IBRAHIM KANOMA, Gusau
What should have been a happy Sunday for parents, victims and government of Zamfara State, if the information flying around in some heavyweight media about release of Jangebe schoolgirls kidnapped recently by bandits is correct, has turned out to be a hope hung in the balance because the report is confirmed to be untrue.
It will be recalled the new twist to issue of bandit kidnapping in North West where some media were quick to report release of victims kidnapped only to happen later that it was not true. The news of Niger’s Kagara school students and staff release to Sheikh Ahmed Gumi was also broken many days ago and Governor Sani Bello refuted it before they were finally released on Saturday 27 February 2021.
On Sunday, a particular station in Lagos broke the news when it reported release of the Zamfara schoolgirls and some print media joined.
In his reply to The DEFENDER for the confirmation of the reports, the Director General, Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications to the Zamfara State Governor, Mallam Yusuf Idris Gusau, said “It is not true”.
When prompted further as to what could have led to more than one media reporting their release, Gusau simply said, “We don’t know their source”.
The television published on its website that while it gathered on Sunday that the students have regained their freedom, that the state government and other officials were, however, yet to confirm or provide any details.
The report however said as of Friday evening, seven out of the 317 abducted female students were said to have escaped, adding that a source that spoke with it “from Jangebe town via a phone call confirmed that the seven girls returned home on their own as they claimed they manoeuvred their way back from the bandits while trekking along the forest.”
The girls were abducted from their boarding school in the early hours of Friday 26 February 2021.
In reaction to the development, the Zamfara Police Commissioner, CP Abutu Yar, had said a joint search and rescue operation was already underway with a view to rescuing all 317 students.
CP Yaro said the Force Commander Operations Hadarin Daji, Major General Aminu Bande, Brigade Commander 1 Brigade, Nigeria Army Gusau, and other state government officials led a heavily armed Re-enforcement team to Jangebe to complement the rescue operation in the locations where the students were believed to have been whisked to.
Meanwhile shortly after, the state Governor, Bello Matawalle, ordered the immediate closure of all boarding schools in the state.
“As we are making efforts to strengthen security around our schools, I have directed the immediate closure of all boarding secondary schools across the State,” Matawalle said in a broadcast, Friday evening.
In their own reports, two print media confirmed not only that the girls have been released but also that the “317” schoolgirls” are in the palace of the Emir of Anka for onward transportation to Gusau, the state capital, as at the time of filing this report.
The DEFENDER, as at press time, had no confirmation of release of the over 300 schoolgirls as the Office of the Governor claimed the reports were not through and they they do not know the source of their information. This online newspaper will however update its readers as things unfold.
