Kidnappers of Islamic Students Threatening to Increase Ransom, Says Head Teacher

By Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie

Suspected gunmen who kidnapped students of Islamiyya School, Tegina, in Niger State last Sunday are threatening to increase the N110 million ransom they have demanded for the release of the students if the money was not paid yesterday.

The Head Teacher of the school, Abubakar Alhassan, whom had been contacted by the kidnappers, said the demand from the kidnappers has thrown the community into confusion, even as the state government had remained silent over their abduction since last Sunday.

Alhassan, who spoke yesterday through a telephone interview on Arise News television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said two female teachers were also kidnapped, and that the female teachers were forced to disclose his telephone number through which they contacted him to negotiate for ransom.

He said he was allowed to speak with the female teachers, who narrated their ordeals of how the kidnappers were beating them up and starving them of food and water.

According to Alhassan, “The kidnappers called me on the phone and demanded N300 million ransom for the release of the students numbering over 150, according to our records. I told them we do not have such amount of money, so they reduced it to N110 million, but threatened to increase it if the money was not paid by yesterday.”

Alhassan, who revealed that no government agency from the state has reached out to them so far, said: “The Secretary to the State Government (SSG) was able to get across to me through the governor’s wife as the governor is said to be out of town. The governor’s wife called me and gave the phone to the secretary who promised to interfere, but up until now, nothing has been done or heard. Nobody has come to sympathise with us.”

The head teacher said the number of the students kidnapped has been confirmed to be 150.

“I have been able to account for 150 pupils so far, because a register has been opened for parents to come and register the names of the pupils abducted. As at today, we have registered about 150 people which the parents complained area missing since last Sunday,” Alhassan said.Describing in details how the students were kidnapped, Alhassan said he wasn’t in the school premises when the abduction took place, but was about to enter the school gate when he saw the bandits on bikes with guns inside the school premises.

“As I was about to enter the school premises, I saw the bandits on motorcycles numbering over 25 with most of them carrying guns and different ammunition, and majority of them wore masks. They were shooting into the air, and they surrounded the school and some houses around the school.

“Unfortunately, security agents in the area couldn’t come to confront them because their weapons could not match that of the bandits,” Alhassan narrated.