July 07, (THEWILL) – Bandits, who invaded Maraban Rido in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Monday and abducted students of Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, have reached out to the management of the institution to demand foodstuffs.
THEWILL gathered that the abductors asked for food items like rice, beans, seasoning and oil to feed the students.
The Proprietor of the school, who is also the President, Kaduna Baptist Conference, Rev. Ishaya Jangado, told newsmen on Tuesday, that the bandits said 121 students of the school were in their custody.
He said that the bandits called on Monday and allowed one of the students to speak to a top member of the school management, adding that they called again on Tuesday and allowed two senior students to speak to them.
He narrated: “When the phone rang, the bandits first spoke to the member of the management. They said a senior student was directed to count the students in their custody and the boy confirmed that 121 students were being held. They also asked for food such as rice and beans as well oil to feed the students.
“Later, the senior student, who counted the abductees, said there were 121 of them with the bandits.”
Meanwhile, the management of the school and parents of the abducted students met Tuesday on ways to rescue the abductees.
The meeting lasted several hours amidst a threat by the parents to embark on another round of protests and block the Kaduna-Kachia Highway, where the school is located.
The parents, mostly women, had indeed blocked the highway before operatives of the Kaduna State Vigilante Service prevailed on them to abandon the protest.
The parents also held a prayer session for God’s intervention in the rescue of their children from the kidnappers’ den.
Briefing parents on the incident, Jangado said 28 students were “recovered” on Monday after the bandits attacked the school.
He explained that the total number of students in the boarding house was 154 and that 28 were recovered, while 121 were in the bandits’ custody. He, however, did not provide any explanation on the remaining five students.
He said, “For now, we know that we have 154 students in the school hostel and yesterday (Monday) after the exchange of fire between the soldiers and the bandits, we came to the school and recovered 28 students; some of them were hit in many places. In the course of being taken away, some of them escaped and they came back to the school.
“So the total number of students we recovered yesterday (Monday) was 28 and today (Tuesday), by the grace of God, we got a call from the bandits and they assured us that our children are well and doing okay.
“In fact, we had the privilege of speaking with a few of them. They counted themselves in the jungle and they gave us information that they were 121, and when we put the number together with what we have recovered, we discovered that the number is exactly the same as the number of students we have in the hostel.”
But facts emerged on Tuesday on how the bandits wrote to the management on their intention to attack the school.
A parent told newsmen that the bandits actually notified the management that they were coming to attack the school.
The warning, the parent said, was ignored by both the Guardian of the boys’ hostel and the Matron of the girls’ hostel when the students took the letter to them.
She said the teachers taunted the students for being eager to go home for holiday.
She stated, “The bandits actually wrote the school a letter on Sunday that they were going to attack it on Tuesday before striking on Monday.
“The students took the letter to their Guardian and he said to them that they didn’t want to be in school and that they were trying to look for an excuse to leave school.
“They took the same letter and gave it to the Matron of the girls’ hostel; she also acted the same way. The children in their innocence believed them and never said anything until the bandits struck on Monday. The bandits notified the school of their coming, but the students acted otherwise.”
However, Jangado dismissed the claim, saying it was a pure lie. He said the bandits took the school management unawares.
“That is a serious lie. That is wrong. These people (bandits) took us unawares, because we have our plans on security matters, how we can ensure that the students write their exams and go. So, there was no letter or any information about their coming,” he said.
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