Abducted students in Nigeria’s Kaduna state safe: Governor

 

Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of the northwest Nigerian state of Kaduna said that nearly 40 students kidnapped last week are safe.

The Nigerian government will not negotiate with the bandits for their release, the governor said while speaking to Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

“It’s a principle stand, we do not pay ransom, we will not negotiate with criminals, we will not negotiate with bandits,” el-Rufai said.

According to el-Rufai, surveillance operations conducted by the Nigerian armed forces showed the students were in good health.

“They are waiting, hoping that something will come. We are involved in a waiting game, we’ll have to wait and see how things play out,” the governor stated.

Attackers stormed the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Afaka on Thursday in the Igabi area of Kaduna, abducting a mix of boys and girls.

In a separate incident on Monday, three teachers were abducted in Kaduna state by attackers who raided Rema Primary school, the latest kidnapping in northern Nigeria since December.

“The bandits have been targeting educational institutions and schools, abducting students in particular because it makes headlines,” el-Rufai said.

The kidnappings have a significant effect on educational development not only in Kaduna state but across the region, said El-Rufai.

“Northern Nigeria is among the most backward in terms of education. In this state we have invested heavily in education in the last few years,” he said, adding significant improvements had been made “but all that is at risk right now”.

The abduction of educators and students began with the armed group Boko Haram – which in 2014 abducted 270 girls in the Chibok area in northeast Nigeria. Since then, other groups have conducted similar attacks, demanding large sums of money.