Governor Matawalle says Nigerians will be shocked at those behind school children kidnappings

GOVERNOR Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has dropped a bombshell by stating that Nigerians will be shocked if they found out those who were behind the recent abduction of over 300 students from the Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS) Jangebe.

Last Friday, armed bandits stormed the boarding school in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State and kidnapped the girls. In what is now becoming a vogue, armed hoodlums, terrorists and bandits have formed the habit of kidnapping school pupils, knowing the outrage will lead to them being paid huge ransoms.

Boko Haram started the trend in 2014 when it abducted 267 pupils from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok in Borno State. In December last year, over 300 pupils were kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School Kankara in Katsina State, while 42 students, staff and family members were abducted from Government Science Secondary School in Kagara in Niger State.

In Katsina and Niger States, the abducted pupils were eventually released after negotiations which are believed to led to the payment of huge ransom fees. So far, there has been no word on the Zamfara kidnapping and over the weekend, 17 local emirs from across the state visited Governor Matawalle to sympathise with him.

Speaking after their meeting, Governor Matawalle said Nigerians will be shocked to know those behind the abductions in Zamfara State. He added: “I want to inform you that there are many revelations in relation to the abduction of these students.

“Many people will be surprised to hear those people behind the abduction of these innocent children. They are not comfortable with the progress I am getting as a result of my peace initiative and they want to do all they can to sabotage my efforts."