- As Abductors Demand N500 Million
By Abiola Olawale
The abducted students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation (FCFM), Afaka, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have appealed to the Nigerian government to negotiate with their abductors, adding that the government should not deploy any military personnel to rescue them.
The abductors have demanded N500 million for the release of the students.
Some suspected bandits had invaded the FCFM, early Friday, carting away dozens of students from the school. Some of the students — about 180 of them — were later freed/rescued? However, about 39 students of the school are still missing.
This has also been confirmed by the state government as it disclosed that about 16 male students and 23 females abducted from the school are still with their captors.
However, in latest video released by the kidnappers on Saturday, the abducted students pleaded to the government to avoid using force to free them as their abductors have threatened to kill them should any soldier come to their rescue.
In the video, a student of the FCFM, identified to be Benson Emmanuel, was seen sitting down without shirt with AK-47 rifle pointed at him.
In his words, “I am appealing to the the government to come and rescue us by giving them what they want. Most of us are badly injured. Most of us are having health issues. Using force to rescue us is almost impossible because we are surrounded by the gunmen. They said they will not hesitate to kill every one if they sight any security personnel who might come to rescue us. So we are appealing to government to rescue us by giving them what they want.”
Similarly, an unidentified female student wearing hijab who spoke in Hausa also begged the government to meet the demands of the abductors.
In her words, “I am appealing to the government to rescue us. We are in trouble. Our Iives are in danger. They tell us that they heard soldiers will be sent to rescue us. They told us if they see any soldiers around, we are all going to die.”
Meanwhile, Miracle Jacob, who is a student of the FCFM, has identified 11 of the abducted students from the video and gave their names as Rose Okoye, Kauna Daniel, Blessing Babale, Regina John, Rachel Adejimo, Benson Emmanuel, Susan Jatau, Amina Yusuf Sale, Jamila Yusuf Sale, Sarah and Maman Ahmed.
The demand by the students comes as President Muhammadu Buhari and the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai recently ruled out any form of negotiations with the bandits.
Also, Buhari had on Saturday issued a stern warning to terrorists and bandits targeting schools, saying the country will not allow the destruction of the school system.
