Zamfara abduction: Controversy surrounds students’ release

There was controversy over the release of schoolgirls of Government Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State,  who were abducted on Friday.

Earlier on Sunday,  the abducted schoolgirls were said to have been released and at the palace of the Emir of Anka, waiting to be transported to Gusau, the state capital.

However, the state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Suleiman Tunau Anka, tweeted Sunday afternoon that the students are yet to be released.

He asked people to ignore news regarding the release of abducted students of GGSS Jangebe, saying “It’s not true. But, the state government and securities are trying their best.”

A very competent source had informed Sunday PUNCH on Saturday that negotiations with the bandits who kidnapped the schoolgirls had reached a very advanced stage, saying “they may be in Gusau today.”

The girls who were kidnapped on Friday were believed to have been taken to a forest by bandits who reportedly disguised as security personnel.

A source said the girls were kept in the forest between Dangulbi and Sabon Birnin Banaga in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The incident was the latest mass kidnapping for ransom by armed gangs in the North in recent weeks. Punch