Students of the Government Science College Kagara, Niger State, their teachers and other persons kidnapped by gunmen in the early hours of February 17, remain in custody eight days after because the condition for a swap proposed by the abductors is yet to be met.
The school abduction came about two months after a large number of students were abducted in a similar style from a secondary school in Kankara, Katsina State.
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello had confirmed that the government was negotiating for the safe release of the abductees.
Two former heads of state who hail from the state, retired Generals Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) and Abdulsalami Abubakar, have asked government and security agencies to employ all means necessary to secure release of the abductees.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar who was in Minna, the Niger State capital over the kidnapping, said the police knew the identity of the abductors.
Reliable sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations said that the kidnappers, who operate between Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State and Rafi Local Government in Niger State, had demanded for the release of six members of their group arrested at different times by security agents.
The abductors, it was learnt, demanded the release of the identified persons arrested as the only condition for them to release the abductees.
One of the sources said the Niger State Government has engaged security agencies in an active search for the persons to effect the swap.
“Four of them are so far identified. Two were located in Katsina, and one each in Kaduna and Niger states,” he said.
Identifying the two remaining gang members, it was gathered, was what was delaying the conclusion of the process.
As the dialogue with the bandits continued, governors from the North under the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) are scheduled to meet in Kaduna today and tomorrow, with insecurity on the top agenda.
Babangida and Abdulsalami urged the federal and state governments to consider all possible means to secure the release of the victims.
The former leaders who were worried by the situation expressed concern over the continuous stay of the children and their teachers in the hands of the bandits.
The two elder statesmen who expressed reservations on government dialoguing with the bandits, said they will support it if that would be the best way to secure the release of the victims.
Both leaders expressed this while speaking during the visit of the delegation of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) led by the Chairman, Dr Kayode Fayemi.
According to Babangida, “The safety of the children is of the utmost importance for now. We want them to come out safely without anyone being hurt. Any measure the government takes to secure their release will be okay.”
On his part, Abdulsalami said, “Dialogue is not the best way but when you are the one wearing the shoe, what will you do? He asked.
“Our children have been abducted for over five days, even if you know where they are, it will be foolhardy to storm there and fight them (bandits) because there may be casualties.
“Sometimes there is a need to see the best way you can talk to these heartless people to see how you can get these people released. But dialoguing is not the best way.”
While speaking on the solutions to the insecurity situation in the country, the two elder statesmen said that the bulk of the work falls on the table of the law enforcement agencies in putting up strategies to prevent future incidences.
“Going forward, it requires a lot of planning and thinking but these problems can be overcome. The law enforcement agencies need to work together to map new strategies on how to deal with the problem,” IBB said.
