Police say 14 Islamic school pupils abducted from farm in Niger State

Gunmen abducted 14 pupils of an Islamic school while they were harvesting maize on their teacher’s farm in Rafi Local Government Area, Niger State, on Saturday, police said.

Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger State Police Command spokesperson, confirmed the abduction on Monday. He said suspected bandits came into Tungan-Bako village at about 12.30pm and took the pupils, and that the number was 14, not 50 as some reports had said.

It is the second abduction of people working on farms near Pandogari in a week. Police said six farmers seized at Mahangi village on 28 October were rescued the next day by joint security teams.

Accounts of the attack differ. Daily Trust reported, citing residents, that at least 12 pupils of Madarasatul Nurul Islam in Maikujeri community were taken. A source close to the school told the paper that 12 girls aged nine to 14 and the younger brother of the school’s proprietor were seized at a borehole on their way home.

That source said the teacher had sent the pupils home after hearing that bandits were approaching, and left on his motorcycle. Punch reported that the teacher was taken with the pupils.

A commercial motorcyclist who tried to escape was shot and is being treated at IBB Specialist Hospital in Minna, Daily Trust reported.

Abiodun said a joint security rescue operation was under way and that police would give further updates. It is not known whether the kidnappers have contacted the families.

Sources: Niger State Police Command statement, via Punch; Daily Trust