Governor Aminu Masari Thursday night confirmed the release of the abducted students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara.
The governor said the boys were at Tsafe, Zamfara State, and would be transported to Kankara on Friday.
According to him, the release of the boys was facilitated by the leadership of MACABAN/Miyetti Allah.
The governor’s Special Adviser on Security, Mallam Ibrahim Katsina, also confirmed the development.
He told newsmen on Thursday night that “Allihamdulillahi, the boys have been rescued and are now at Tsafe, Zamfara State. But, we shall be moving them to Kankara tomorrow (Friday).”
We Didn’t Pay Any Ransom
However, Masari in an interview with DWTV Hausa at 10 pm on Thursday, said no ransom was paid before the boys were released.
When asked if a ransom was paid before the release of the boys, he said, “We did not pay ransom to the kidnappers, it was purely negotiation.”
Explaining how the boys were released, “One hour ago, Nigerian soldiers and government officials that were involved in the negotiation for the release of the kidnapped schoolboys have told us that the whole school children have been released, 344 of them.
“Those involved in the negotiation include my adviser, some top military and police operatives, members of Miyetti Allah; (they) were all involved in the negotiation.”
He also said those who kidnapped the boys were not Boko Haram.“They are bandits who kidnapped the schoolboys, not Boko Haram.”
Recall that the gunmen suspected to be bandits abducted the students last Friday night from their school’s hostel in a Gestapo-like action.
Parents deny knowing students in the B’Haram video
But some parents of the abducted students of GSS Kankara and residents have dismissed the video purportedly posted by the Boko Haram sect on Thursday morning, showing some youths in captivity in a forest.
A father of one of the students, MallamAminu Dayyabu, said none of the youths showed in the video was a student of the school.
Dayyabu, whose 12-year-old son, Farouq Aminu, was among the abducted students, however, prayed that the bandits did not kill the students in retaliation for any other steps taken by the government apart from negotiation, to secure the release of the students.
“None of the students shown in the video, including the older one, who spoke in Hausa, was a student of the school.
“I will appeal to the government not to use violence to get the students freed. The bandits and members of the Boko Haram sect are parents too and would not want to harm the students. But Almighty Allah knows the best.”
Another woman, Murjanatu Danja, who is the mother of another abducted student, Hussaina Nasiru, said the faces in the Boko Haram video were not that of abducted students.
She said, “The faces in that video are not that of the abducted students. Even if I cannot identify other faces, I should be able to identify Hussaina’s face. But the faces are strange.
“I appeal again that government should secure the release of our children before their abductors take them far from home.”
