The officials of the office of the National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has officially handed over the one hundred rescued students of St Mary’s Catholic School Papiri to the Niger State Government.
At the ceremony in Minna, the National Security Adviser Mallam Ribadu said the rescue was made possible through coordinated application of intelligence by the NSA’s office and other sister security agencies.
According to the officials the one hundred rescued children were among the over three hundred pupils and staff kidnapped by heavily armed men from the school over two weeks ago.
A few days after the incident, fifty pupils escaped followed by another eleven. The National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu reaffirmed the commitment of his office to continue to coordinate measures to protect the citizenry through short term protective measures especially in hard to reach areas.
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu represented by Wing Commodore Abdullahi Idi Hong said insecurity should not serve as a basis where children would be denied the right to education. ‘We will continue to pursue policies and operations that restore confidence, reopen schools and ensure that the right of every Nigerian child in safety is upheld’
Receiving the children, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Office of the National Security Adviser for their commitments towards the successful operation.
Governor Bago expressed confidence that the remaining children in captivity would be rescued unhurt and be reunited with their families. He said a medical team has been assembled to ascertain their health status before handing them over to their parents
One of the rescued pupils, Florence Machael, said they were given a trampoline to lie on and threatened that if they made noise they would be released. A mother, Elizabeth Samuel whose child is among those rescued, thanked the Federal Government and called for sustained efforts to free the remaining pupils.
In an interview, the officer in charge of UNICEF Kaduna Field Office Theresa Pallma said the organisation has assembled forty experts to test the mental and psychological health of the children.
