A group of bandits that abducted 20 people, including 15 students, four teachers and one dispatch rider at the College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Bakura, Zamfara State, has demanded N350 million to release the abductees.

Aliyu Bakura, the school’s Deputy Registrar, disclosed this in conversation with FIJ on Tuesday. Bakura said the state government and security forces had promised to explore all means to rescue the victims. 

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“Since then, we have not had any conversation with them. What we heard was that the government would intervene. The issue is between the government and the bandits,” he said.

“Even the state Commissioner of Police and top staff of the Nigerian Army have visited the school. They assured us that they would rescue them without any loss of lives or injuries.”

However, Bakura worried that some parents were speaking with the bandits individually to negotiate the ransom.

“The students have started giving the contacts of their parents to bandits and the parents back home are negotiating with them,” he said.

“We have told them to stop because it is now an issue that involves the government but we can’t say if they listened or not.”

Badamasi Lawal, the Zamfara State Commissioner for Education, is yet to answer FIJ’s calls for comments on the development.