Pupils of Tegina Islamiyya school, in Rafi local government area of Niger State, have narrated what they went through in the den of their kidnappers, saying they were severely beaten and threatened to be killed.
The pupils who spent about 80 days in captivity spoke after they were reunited with their parents on Friday and Saturday at an event supervised by their school’s head teacher, Alhaji Alhassan Garba, in Minna, Niger State.
In their accounts, one of the released pupils, Zuwaira Isa, said they trekked for almost four days in the forest before reaching a final destination.
“The little ones amongst us were lifted on the bandits’ motorcycles throughout the movement.
“We were fed with rice though not enough to satisfy us. We were subjected to severe beatings both in the morning and evening, and they threatened to kill us if our parents did not pay our ransom,” Isa said.
Another pupil, Hauwa Musa, said: “They usually beat us and threatened to kill us and dump our bodies in the bush if our parents did not pay the ransom.”
Musa also said the bandits were giving them small food ration and one pure water sachet for two abductees.
She, however, said that the incident would not deter her from continuing with her educational pursuit, adding, “I am so much eager to go back to school.”
Meanwhile, speaking on the handing over of the pupils to their parents, Garba said: “All the parents were happy to have their children back and willing to allow them to continue to acquire their education in the same school.”
He said that the management of the school would soon meet with the community to work out the modalities for the reopening of the institution which had been closed for three months.
He said the chairman of Rafi local government, Alhaji Ismail Dan Modibi, councillors and other stakeholders would soon deliberate on various forms of security measures to be adopted if the school resumed normal academic activities.
The head teacher said that he personally went and picked the pupils at a village called Gwaska in Birnin Gwari local government area of Kaduna State.
He said the abductors of the pupils after collecting ransom insisted that he must personally go there and pick the children.
“I had to take a bike from Birnin Gwari town to a particular destination were I picked the children for onward journey back to Minna,” he said.
The parents have expressed happiness about the release of their children.
One of the mothers of the released children, Hajia Rabi Abubakar, said she was happy to have her two kids back.
Abubakar said she paid an undisclosed amount of money to get her children back, but vowed to allow them to continue with their Islamiyya education in the school.
She said that the incident would not affect the educational pursuit of the children.
“Islamic and western education is the only legacy any responsible family will leave behind for their children and I am determined to do that to enable them be responsible citizens.
“We have suffered too much in the hands of the bandits but our Allah will surely punish any person or group of people that had a hand in the incident and for causing untold hardships to us and the innocent kids,” she said.
Hajia Habiba Aliyu, whose five children were among the freed pupils, was full of praises to God.
“When we learnt that the abducted children have regained freedom from their kidnapers we were all happy and full of praises to God.
“We prayed and fasted, seeking God’s intervention for the safe return of our kids,”Aliyu said.
Mallam idris Umar, another parent of some of the released pupils, also stated that the incident would not discourage them from sending their children to Islamic schools in the town.
Umar said they had already planned to secure the school and other schools in the community.
“We have put in place sensitive security measures that will prevent future occurrences of the incident as our children resume normal academic activities in the school.
“We, the parents, have collectively agreed not to be discouraged by the recent activities of the bandits in preventing our children to acquire Islamic and western education.
“We will allow and encourage the children to realise that seeking knowledge is the best thing to happen in this world and the hereafter,” he said.
Source: NAN
