• T.B. Joshua, others helped in ransom payment — Head teacher

It was songs of victory and praises to God for bringing home their children after 88 days of horror in the kidnappers’ den.

The children of the Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School, Tegina are now relating their experiences. Mostly little children, the children said that they were fed mostly rice and kunnu (a local delicacy) during their 88 days in captivity and were flogged daily by their abductors.

Furera Isah, one of the abductees, who spoke about their experiences at the hands of their captors, said they enjoyed no comfort whatsoever throughout the period as they were made to sleep on bare ground and were ceaselessly beaten by rain. She said: “The months we spent there were not comfortable at all. Our lives were not sweet. They beat us all the time. Every time, they call us at night to beat us.

“As for food, they gave us rice and kunnu. We usually ate three times a day. They did not starve us. But they beat us every time.

“They allowed us to pray. We slept in a shabby place. The rain usually beats us whenever it falls.”

Furera recalled that their captors made them to trek for four days after they were abducted, saying that none of them was carried on the bandits’ motorcycles.

“After they carried us from the school, we walked very far. We spent four days on the road. Even when we were tired, they beat us and forced us to walk.”

Another of the pupils, who spoke barely before he was whisked away by medical personnel, said that none of them was assaulted or molested.

“They did not touch us; they only beat us. They flogged us every day,” he said.

Medical personnel confirmed that they discovered a lot of marks on the bodies of the children, which was evidence that they were beaten continuously.

91 pupils abducted, 90 released – Government

Meanwhile, the Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, said that 91 pupils of the school were abducted by bandits, adding that one was killed during their stay in captivity.

Bello, who received the released children in Government House Minna, said that 90 students were released alongside two of the teachers.

He said: “Late last night, moving into the early morning of this morning, we received the abducted Tegina Islamiyya children that were kidnapped on the 30th of May this year.

“They arrived in Minna in the early hours of this morning, and since then, the medical officials have been attending to them to assure of their health status.

“In total, 91 children were kidnapped and we have received 90. We lost one of them. Alongside the 91 children, two other people were abducted, who have been released as well. The total number received is 92.

“All the children have been checked and all of them but four appear to be okay. We will be releasing them to their parents who are eager to have their loved ones back to them.”

The governor declared that those who abducted the children are sick and mad, adding that the government is taking all necessary measures to ensure that they are hunted down and prosecuted.

He said: “I will like to congratulate all of us who have contributed towards the release of the children. This goes to show that there is sickness and madness in the head of some people. Otherwise, I can’t explain or imagine why you will abduct a three-year-old and keep him or her for more than 80 days.

“I can assure you that we will do what it takes to bring them to justice. We have put in place all necessary measures to hunt down and prosecute those involved in this act.”

Appreciating God and everyone for an end to the saga of the abducted children, the governor said the incident has affected the confidence of the people in government and made parents to think twice before sending their children to school, adding that measures were being taken to strengthen security in all the schools across the state.

“It is my prayer that Allah will not allow us to see this again in Niger State and Nigeria. This has affected the morale, the confidence in people and made parents think twice before they send their children to school.

“Put in place measures to secure schools. Close down schools in the forest until the security situation improves,” he said.

It’s special Friday for us – Parents

It was a joy overflow for parents who received their children after they had stayed in the kidnapper’s den for 88 days.

Habiba Aliyu, a mother, expressed joy in having her son back.

She said: “I thank Allah and the government that made us to see this day. It is a special Friday for us parents. We have been crying day and night and Allah has turned our cry into joy.

“We thank Allah and the governor for his commitment, and the (local government) Chairman for his contribution towards the release of the children. We thank the headmaster. We have been patient and we have been rewarded for our patience. My child is back to me.”

Another parent, Idris Umar, whose son died in captivity, said that he felt sad that his son was the one that died, saying that the past 88 days has been very traumatic for the parents.

“It has been a traumatic experience. I don’t wish my enemies to experience such. It is such a terrible thing. You can see for yourself.

Parent

“Look at the age bracket of the children. Even if you are not a parent and you see this, you will feel bad. That is how we have felt for the past three months. We are just having a sense of relief now that our children are back.

“Five of my children were abducted but one of them died. I feel sad but it is destined to be. The only thing is that I am not happy with the place he died or the way he died. I would have preferred he died in my arms.”

Umar, who is also the proprietor of the school, said that the incident would not stop the operation of the school.

“The school will still be operational. This incident will not discourage us. We will not close the school, but we will make arrangements for it to be more secure,” he said.

Explaining the disparity in number, Umar explained that there was a mix-up as they initially collated the names of 136 students that were abducted, but they later discovered that a lot of parents who found their children hid them and did not inform them that they had found their children.

“He said: “Ninety-two of them were abducted. Initially, we had 136, but after three weeks, we discovered that some ran away and escaped. Despite the escape, some parents found their children but did not tell us.”

How we raised money for ransom – Head teacher

It was not clear last night how much was paid as ransom before the pupils were released, but a source said they paid additional N18 million to the initial payment of N50 million they paid when the ransom was reduced from N200 million. They were also said to have supplied some motorcycles to the bandits as part of the conditions given for their release.

But the head teacher of the school, Abubakar Alhassan, said the road to the release of the children was a long and tortuous one for the parents and people of Tegina. According to him, a lot of people contributed to the release of the children, saying that they paid a ransom before the children were released.

“It has been a long process. We cannot mention it all. People have contributed. Individuals everywhere joined in to contribute. Muslims contributed, the Imams contributed, pastors contributed. We even had the late Pastor TB Joshua who contributed. We received blessings from people we know and people we don’t know.

We paid the ransom. I can’t say the total number paid but we paid a lot. We took money to the bandits. We know the process and way we followed to get the ransom to give to the bandits and get them to release the children.”

Also speaking about the number of children abducted, Alhassan explained that 91 children and two adults were abducted, adding that he gave 136 as the children abducted because he was told it was the number abducted.

“The reason why I gave the figure of the abducted children as 136 was that when the incident happened, I was upset. I couldn’t sit down and give the authentic register and number of children abducted.

“I assigned my staff and committee of the parents and the district head to go round so that they can see the total number and they said it was 136.

“But later on, I went from house to house to see how many pupils were in each house, and from there, I followed my register and realised that it was 91. But I couldn’t come to the media to say so because I did not want to criticise myself. “

CULLED FROM THE NATION