Several students of Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna state, have been abducted by bandits.
The gunmen were said to have invaded the school, located in Chikun LGA of the state, at about 2am on Monday.
Joseph Hayab, Kaduna state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), confirmed the incident to TheCable.
Hayab said his son, who is also a student in the school, was among those who narrowly escaped being abducted.
He said many of the students were missing, explaining that it is not possible to determine the number of those abducted until those who ran into hiding are back.
He, however, said many of the students are believed to have been abducted.
“We cannot give the exact figure of those abducted for now, until those who ran into hi for safety are back and a census of the students is taken, but we know they took a lot of students,” Hayab said.
“I am just speechless, I don’t know what to say. My son was among the students who narrowly escaped.
“I am part of this unfortunate incident because it is my church. This is a very, very sad situation for us.
“I was informed that bandits invaded the school around 2am.
“They have just started the NECO exam and see what we are going through.”
Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalije, has said no fewer than 17 kidnapped students of the school have returned.
A teacher at the school, Emmanuel Paul, told AFP that the bandits took away 165 students.
On his part Hayab told NAN that as of Friday, there were 180 boarding students in the school.
NAN quoted Police PRO Jalije as saying “17 of the students have been rescued.”
Jaliye said that the exact number of students abducted by the bandits had yet to be ascertained, adding that details would be made public in due course.
“Tactical police teams went after the kidnappers,” he added. “We are still on the rescue mission.”
Hayab, who is also a member of the Baptist Church, said that so far, 26 students had returned and he was hopeful that more would escape from the bandits.
The attackers were said to have scaled a fence to break into the School in Kaduna state in the early hours of Monday.
“The kidnappers took away 140 students, only 25 students escaped. We still have no idea where the students were taken,” Emmanuel Paul, a teacher at the school told AFP.
Around 1,000 students and pupils have been abducted in different Nigerian states since December last year. Most have been released after negotiations with local officials, although some are still being held.
Bethel Baptist High School is a co-education college established by Baptist church in 1991 at Maramara village in Chikun district outside the state capital Kaduna.
Monday’s attack was the fourth mass school kidnap in Kaduna State since December.
Kaduna State governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has been one of the most vocal local leaders insisting he will refuse to pay ransom money.
For information on Press Releases, Photos, Promotional Events and Adverts, Please message us on WhatsApp via (+234) 09052129258, 08124662170 or send an email to: info@educeleb.com.
