Troops of the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Army on Sunday thwarted a fresh attack by bandits on Government Science Secondary School, Ikara LGA of Kaduna state.
Samuel Aruwan, the state commissioner of internal security and home affairs, who confirmed the incident, said the bandits also attempted to attack a senior staff quarters around Kaduna International Airport.
Aruwan said the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday.
He said a head count had been done and all 307 students of the school are safe.
“Between the late hours of Saturday night and the early hours of today, suspected bandits stormed the Government Science Secondary School, Ikara, Ikara local government area, in an attempt to kidnap students,” Aruwan said.
“Fortunately, the students utilized the security warning system in place, and were thus able to alert security forces in the area. The security forces comprising the troops of the Nigerian Army, Police and some security volunteers moved swiftly to the school and engaged the bandits, forcing them to flee.
“The military and police are still on the trail of the armed bandits.
“Following a head count by the school management, the Kaduna State Government can confirm to you that all 307 students have been verified safe and present. The attempted kidnap was foiled completely and no student was taken from the school.
“The images provided by the Nigerian Army can attest to this, and will be shared with you
“Around Ifira village in Igabi Local Government Area, bandits attempted to attack a senior staff quarters around the Kaduna Airport general area.”
The development comes days after bandits attacked Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Igabi LGA of Kaduna and abducted at least 30 students.
On March 6, gunmen also attacked the staff quarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in Kaduna and kidnapped 11 persons.
The whereabouts of the victims of both incidents remained unknown.
“The Kaduna State Government maintains a clear focus at this time, and that is to ensure the safe return of the missing students, and to consolidate intelligence gathering and security vigilance towards forestalling possible attempts on other facilities or institutions,” he said.
“As a Government, our focus is on getting back our missing students and preventing further episodes of school abductions. We will continue to provide updates as further information becomes available.”