June 21, 2021

Bandits had used students’ phones to call parents to demand a 60 million naira ($146,341) ransom, the principal of the federal government college, Birnin Yauri has disclosed.

Mustapha Yusuf told Reuters that the kidnappers have been taking cover under the students … They are in the bush,” he said.

According to him, two girls and a boy were found dead, two with gunshot wounds in their legs.

The army said in a statement that it had rescued three teachers and eight students so far, killing one of the kidnappers.

There have been a series of kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria, with a sharp rise in abductions since late 2020 as the government struggles to maintain law and order amid a flagging economy.

REUTERS