July 22, (THEWILL) – Bandits, who abducted 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna, have freed three of their victims, police said on Thursday.
Bandits had on July 5, attacked the School in Kaduna state and abducted 121 students.
Spokesperson of the State Police Command, Mohammed Jalige, told newsmen that one of the students was freed 10 days ago and two more were released on Wednesday.
“They are now in our medical facility undergoing medical checks. The students had been freed on health grounds. It is obvious they have some health challenges, having spent weeks in captivity in the bush,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Wednesday dismissed reports that three of the students have been killed.
Chairman, Kaduna CAN, Rev. Joseph Hayab, said all the abducted students, including the girls were in good condition.
Hayab, who was reacting to reports that three of the female students were killed by the bandits, said the parents and school management were in contact with the kidnappers who assured them all the students were fine.
According to him: “There is nothing like that. We are in contact with the bandits. The girls are doing fine and have not been killed so far. If it is a wish, we pray that wish will never come true.
“The challenge we have now is the demands the bandits are making on us. The ransom is outrageous. But we are negotiating.
”I can tell you that we have not paid one kobo as ransom apart from the foodstuff we contributed and gave to the bandits for the feeding of the children.
“We are appealing that the kidnappers should know that the parents are poor; some of them are jobless and could not even meet the demands of paying school fees.
“The story of the rape and killing of the students by the kidnappers is not true. It is sad. This report started coming in on Saturday.
“We really do not know why someone would sit down in his house and write such a report that the girls were molested and because they refused them to have the way they were killed.”
The bandits had demanded food and a cumulative ransom of N60 million to free the hostages, but it was not immediately clear if any money changed hands to secure the release of the three.
The CAN Chairman, who disclosed that negotiation was ongoing over the ransom, noted that parents and other stakeholders were at the moment finding it hard to raise the “outrageous” ransom.
Around 1,000 students and pupils have been abducted across Nigeria since December.
Most have been released after negotiations with local officials, although some are still being held.
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