The Police Command in Zamfara has confirmed the kidnap of five persons at Government Girls Secondary School Moriki in Zurmi Local Government Area of the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Muhammad Shehu, who made the confirmation in a statement in Gusau on Thursday, said no student was abducted.
“On the 1st May 2019 at about 2130hrs, DPO Zurmi received a distress call that unidentified number of armed men entered Government Girls Secondary School Moriki through the back fence with intent to attack the school and abduct students.
“On the spur of the moment, a combined team of PMF/CTU/ and Civilian JTF personnel headed by the DPO mobilised to the school and confronted the armed men and stopped them from gaining access to the students’ hostels,” he stated
According to him, the armed men took a retreat back to the bush.
“No students were abducted as earlier reported by some media outfits; however, two 2 caterers and three of their children were later discovered missing.
“The police are collaborating with the school authority to establish the whereabouts of the missing persons.
“A search and rescue operation team has been dispatched to the surrounding bushes for an extensive combing”, he added.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the school and its environs to forestall future occurrence.
Shehu called on members of the public to be very vigilant and report any suspicious character to the police for prompt response
Zamfara has been under continued attacks by bandits in the past few years.
But the attacks have heightened in 2019 despite efforts by the security agencies to address the situation.
The security agencies had launched ‘Operation PUFF-ADDER’ to curb the activities of bandits in the state, but not much result has been achieved.
Lai Mohammed, minister of information, had said part of why the federal government banned mining in the state was because illegal miners “provide arms for the bandits.”
The Zamfara attack comes five years after 276 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents from their school in Chibok, Borno state, in 2014.
It also comes more than a year after over 100 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Dapchi, Yobe state.
