Gunmen storm another Kaduna school, abduct principal

Baba Negedu, KADUNA 

Gunmen yesterday attacked the Government Technical Secondary School, Maraban Kajuru, in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State and disappeared with the principal of the school. 

The gunmen were said to have invaded the school at about 12am, shooting indiscriminately and moving from one area to the other. 

The Kaduna State Police Command has confirmed the incident, adding that the timely intervention of security operatives prevented the attackers from invading the hostel and kidnapping students. 

The latest attack is coming just a week after suspected kidnappers whisked away six female students and two staff of Engraver’s College at Kakau Daji village in Chikun Local Government Area of the state.

Meanwhile, negotiations are still ongoing to secure the release of the eight people abducted in Engraver’s college at Kakau Daji. 

Kajuru and Chikun Local Government Areas shares same border, not far from Kaduna metropolis. 

An eyewitness said the gunmen numbering over 20 stormed the Government Technical School at about midnight on Thursday, and started shooting sporadically into the air to scare students and teachers.

The eyewitness added: “The gunmen took away the principal of the school from his residence to an unknown destination.”

Another resident, who resides close to the school premises said the bandits arrived at the school at about 12:45am and started shooting indiscriminately.

He added: “People living around the school were terrified following the persistent shootings. Many of them ran into the bush for fear that the gunmen might come to attack them. The operation  lasted for over an hour. By the time security agents came, the bandits had left. I live close to the school. They came at about 12:45 am and were shooting. We thought they had come to raid the entire community. They were shooting at the principal's house. The sound of gunshots woke everybody within the neighbourhood.  We didn't sleep throughout the night.  When I heard gunshots, I called one of my neighbours.  We became very terrified and  I decided to run away from my house by scaling  my fence. After a while, one of the teachers in the school called and told me what was going on. The bandits had difficulty breaking the door to the principal's house because the door had very strong padlocks, so it took them time to break it.”

He further added: “Two years back, they kidnapped the wife of the principal. So after that incident, the principal  took steps to fortify the house by installing strong padlock. The operation lasted for about an hour. The entire community was helpless. We could not do anything  because we didn’t have any weapon. No student was abducted because of the alarm  raised  by the community. They only abducted the principal and left.”

He appealed to  the government to do something about these ugly incidents or allow people to arm themselves.

“Once the bandits know that we also have arms, they will not just come and be abducting people,” he opined.

Meanwhile the Kaduna State Police Command said it "received information through the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Kajuru, in the early hours of Thursday, at about 2:20am that a group of armed men invaded Government Technical College, Kajuru, a Boarding Secondary School in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State and started shooting sporadically. They abducted Mr. Francis Maji, the Principal of the school. On receipt of the information, a team of Policemen were immediately mobilised to the area with a view to rescue the victim and arrest the perpetrators."

The Kaduna State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), an Assistant Superintendent of Police (DPO), Suleiman Abubakar, in a statement, said: “ Police timely intervention help in preventing the hoodlums from gaining access to the students’ hostel. The Command has also fortified security within the general area. The Commissioner of Police CP Ali Janga assures members of public that the Command was working round the clock to tame the recent change of tactics by the enemies of peace who now resort to soft targets. The CP called on the general public and particularly parents not to be deterred by the recent attack by hoodlums on schools, as the Command was making relentless efforts to prevent future occurrence of the unfortunate incident. The Command is further assuring the good people of the state that it remains resolute in its commitment to safety of all citizens, as that is, its onerous responsibility.”