Kankara Update: Military determined to free students

17 Dec Kankara Update: Military determined to free students

The Military said on Wednesday it is determined to get the abducted students free. They spoke as the Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu has deployed a Special Squad in the state; and Governor Aminu Masari said there is an ongoing negotiation with the abductors through Miyetti Allah – a Fulani group.

Defence Headquarters spokesman Maj.-Gen. John Eneche told reporters that the military was not part of any form of negotiation with the abductors.

although the military acknowledged the right of the Aminu Masari government to “negotiate,” it was working on its own strategy to ensure the safe rescue of the remaining 316 students.

Governor Masari told Channels Television last night that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) was carrying out the negotiation on behalf of his administration but said the government would not pay cash to the kidnappers.

He said: “The leadership of MACBAN is the one that we are talking with. The Commissioner of Police and Special Adviser on Security are discussing with the leaders of Miyetti Allah, who are also discussing with those that abducted the children.

“This is the way we are talking to them. I am waiting for the feedback on their discussion. We are doing all we could to get the children back but what we will not do is to negotiate money with the bandits.

“We should be more proactive with the information given to the security agencies. Everybody should be more involved by providing reliable information and not misleading information that would endanger the lives of the security operatives.

“I am a Chief Security Officer without security apparatus. No governor is a true chief security officer but that is our Constitution. We should do something about it but right now I have over 300 students to look for. I am concerned, more concerned than everyone else except perhaps the parents. I am accountable here and hereafter.

“It is the responsibility of the security agencies to do what they are supposed to under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I am quite aware of my responsibility and I will support these security agencies till they get each and every one of the children. I am the leader; I am not shying away from my responsibilities.”

He said none of the missing students is dead, quashing fears about the safety of the boys.

“The children are alive and we have not received any report that anyone had fallen sick. So we assume that all is well with the children. I was in touch with at least two of the students that escaped on Saturday. I was also in touch on Monday with two that came back.”

Masari also refuted the claim by the Boko Haram that its members  abducted the pupils, saying that “from the information available to us, this was conducted, executed by local bandits that are known to all of us.”

He added: “These are bandits that are roaming the forests of Zamfara and parts of Kaduna State. So far, this is the information we have. Whatever role any other terrorist group must have played, we are yet to confirm it.

“But with regards to this abduction, we have not seen any direct involvement of Boko Haram or ISWAP.”

Reports of Boko Haram involvement: AFP has reported that Boko Haram recruited three local gangs in northwest Nigeria to kidnap hundreds of schoolboys on its behalf, security and local sources said Wednesday.

Sources told the Agency that the operation was carried out on Boko Haram’s orders by a notorious local gangster called Awwalun Daudawa.

The 43-year-old worked in collaboration with Idi Minorti and Dankarami, two other crime chiefs with strong local followings, they said.

Criminal gangs, known as bandits, have terrorised communities in northwest Nigeria for years, and experts had recently warned of attempts by jihadists to forge an alliance with them.

Daudawa “was an armed robber and a cattle rustler before he turned to gun-running, bringing in weapons from Libya, where he had received training, and selling them to bandits,” said a security source.

“Over time, he forged an alliance with Boko Haram and became their gunrunner, taking weapons the group seizes from the Nigerian security forces in raids and ambushes and selling them to bandits for a cut.”

The source added: “Awwalun Daudawa was spotted in the forest in the Kankara area where he recently relocated and there were reports that he was planning something but it was not clear what it was.”

Another source with intimate knowledge of “bandit” activities in Katsina and Zamfara states said: “From available information, Awwalun Daudawa was ordered by Abubakar Shekau to kidnap the schoolboys and he enlisted the help of Idi Minorti and Dankarami.”

“After the children were taken, they went across the border into Zamfara state and split them among different gangs ‘for safe keeping’. And some of the gangs have been in touch with the authorities for the release of the boys.”

Boko Haram had made a claim of responsibility in a four-minute audio, sent to AFP through the same channel as previous messages from the group.

Governor Masari has dismissed reports of the involvement of Boko Haram.