Reports indicate that bandits have abducted at least 15 Tsangaya students at Gidan Bakuso area of Gada Local Government Area in Sokoto State.
The incident, which occurred around 1 a.m. on Saturday at the school premises, was confirmed by the school’s proprietor, Liman Abubakar.
“So far, 15 students are unaccounted for, but we are still counting,” Abubakar stated. “They invaded the town around 1 a.m., shot one person, and abducted a woman in the process. As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms, and they kidnapped many of them. We have so far counted 15 who are missing, and we are still searching for more.”
Abubakar added that while this was not the first attack on the village by bandits, it was the first time they had kidnapped any students.
Mansur Ahmadu, a resident of the affected community, described the invasion as a serious situation, noting that the bandits killed a woman during the incident.
Confirming the incident, Kabiru Dauda, a member representing Gada-East constituency at the state House of Assembly, stated that he received a call from the village around 2 a.m., informing him of the bandit invasion. He added that he had reached out to local government authorities and security agencies, who assured him they were taking action.
The spokesman for the Sokoto State Police Command, ASP Ahmad Rufa’i, disclosed that the command had deployed a team to ascertain the situation.
Efforts to reach the state governor’s Special Adviser on Security Matters, Col Ahmed Usman (retd.), were unsuccessful.
A top government official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the attack, assuring the public that the government would do everything possible to ensure the safe return of the abducted students.
This incident follows the abduction of over 280 pupils and teachers from Government Secondary School and LEA primary school in Kuriga, Kaduna State, on Thursday, sparking national outrage.
