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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Kaduna State Government has denied reports that it has hired a private negotiator to facilitate the return of school children abducted in Kuriga community, in Chikun Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday.
Some media houses had reported that Kaduna State Government had engaged the services of a negotiator to facilitate the release of the abducted students and staff of Government Secondary School, Kuriga.
But a statement issued on Saturday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Muhammad Lawal Shehu, debunked the reports.
“We wish to state categorically that the Kaduna State Government did not hire any private negotiator, neither are we contemplating make such a move… The Kaduna State Government has a clear policy on non-negotiation with terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements.
“We urge members of the Press to be cautious in the way they craft and publicise their stories on security in order not to jeopardize the efforts of Government and security agencies in degrading criminal elements laying siege to our communities,” Shehu said.
On Thursday, Sani Abdullahi, a teacher at the Government Secondary School, Kuriga, revealed that 287 students were missing following bandits attack on the community in the morning.
Abdullahi, who spoke when Governor Uba Sani visited the community on Thursday evening, said bandits invaded both the primary and secondary schools at about 8am.
The teacher said a member of the Kaduna State Vigilante Service (KADVS) was killed by the bandits when he attempted to confront them.
“At GSS Kuriga, 187 students are presently missing. In the primary school, 125 pupils were initially missing, but, 25 of them escaped and returned home,” Abdullahi told the governor.
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