Kaduna Killings, Abductions and Endless Lies
When Army Spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yerima Mohammed reported that five of the abducted 39 students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna State, had been rescued by the military, I knew something was amiss. The Army Spokesman saying the GOC 1 Division, Kaduna, commended the troops for their effort in the rescue and charged them not to rest until all the kidnap victims were rescued, was nauseating. It was not the true story. Trying to take credit for a job not done is not fair. It was good the military took the five students to their facility for medical attention, but saying they rescued them amounts to mocking the victims. The Kaduna State Government joined the Army to spread the falsehood by saying the Army “recovered” the five students.
One of the five freed students blew the whistle on the Army on Tuesday, by revealing that the bandits released them voluntarily. Francis Paul, a 200 Level Student at the institution said: “One afternoon, they (the bandits) came and started selecting us… I was very ill that day. So, they asked me to sit aside and they added some girls and put us on motorbikes.
They dropped us at a village close to the main road and said we should walk towards the road and we did.” This is the true story. The next set of five students released last Thursday followed this process too. The Army should move out and rescue the 29 students still with the bandits instead of peddling falsehood. It is not good for the image of this great institution. The biggest drawback to this war against bandits is the endless lies by governments at all levels and security agencies.
As for Governor Nasir El-rufai, it is not enough to say that you will not negotiate with bandits, those who took the Afaka students inclusive. Of course, many of us are against negotiating with bandits. We support you on this. But what have you done for almost one month to ensure the release of the Afaka students and several others still with kidnappers? Honestly, I can’t see any serious action in this direction. The trauma led to the death of one of the parents, Ibrahim Shamaki, whose daughter spoke in Hausa in a viral video released by the bandits. Killings and kidnappings in this state are never-ending. El-rufai has to use his security vote proactively. The remaining 35 students have already spent 31 days in the dungeons of the abductors. The pain is too much for these young fellows.