Abuja, March 24, 2024 – The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says only 137 of the 287 abducted Kuriga students in Kaduna State have been rescued.
It said the rescued students consisted of 76 females and 61 males and were rescued in Zamfara.
Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, said in a statement on Sunday that the students were rescued in the early hours on Sunday through coordinated search and rescue operation by the military, local authorities and government agencies.
Buba said the rescued students would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.
“Relatedly, it would be recalled that on March 21, troops equally rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
“These hostages were handed over to the Sokoto State Government.
“These efforts demonstrate the armed forces resolve to finding other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.
“These efforts would continue until other hostages are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law.
“Troops are employing similar effort to track down the culprits responsible for the killing of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State.
“Justice await the culprits, as they cannot go unpunished,” he said.
Uba Sani, Kaduna State Governor, had given the impression that all the 287 students were released while announcing their rescue on Saturday night. (GBN)
