Secretary, Jama’a local government area of Kaduna state, Mr. Salleh Banda Kure, has confirmed the kidnap of three students of St. Albert the Great Institute of Philosophy, a Catholic-run major seminary.
Earlier reports indicated that bandits attacked and kidnapped scores from St. Albert the Great Institute of Philosophy, a Catholic-run major seminary in Jema’a LGA.
Kaduna police also confirmed the kidnap of students but declined comments on the number of students involved.
However, Mr. Salleh Banda, who confirmed the kidnap on Tuesday, said bandits, armed with dangerous weapons, broke into the school chapel around 8.45pm on Monday, and met seven students in the school chapel. In the process, two escaped.
“The bandits gained entrance to the school chapel around 8.45pm on Monday night. All the students usually have their prayers at the chapel around 7.00am every day.
“Bandits came around that time, thinking they will kidnap as many students as they wanted. But before they came, they had closed and many students had gone to their hostels,” he said.
“As they forced the seven students to go along with them, the police guarding the school heard the conversation and started shooting sporadically.
” In the process, two students escaped, while the Bandits forced the remaining five students to follow them,” he said.
He said while on their way, the local vigilantes who heard the sound of the gun also pursued the bandits with their Dane gun and two more students escaped, leaving the bandits to escape with three students of the school.
Also, confirming the kidnap of three students of the school, a security guard at the pilgrims register.
“Although this has been the policy, rarely do Umrah pilgrims request nor sign agreements based on the information. With this information sharing, NAHCON is looking to foster a better understanding between data providers and knowledgeable users which can result in many benefits.”
