The kidnapped schoolgirls of Government Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State have been released and are currently in the palace of the Emir of Anka waiting for transportation to Gusau, the state capital.

A very competent source had informed Sunday PUNCH on Saturday that negotiations with the bandits who kidnapped the schoolgirls had reached a very advanced stage, saying “they may be in Gusau today.”
The girls who were kidnapped on Friday were believed to have been taken to a forest by bandits who reportedly disguised as security personnel.
The girls were reportedly kept in the forest between Dangulbi and Sabon Birnin Banaga in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

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The incident was the latest mass kidnapping for ransom by armed gangs in the North in recent weeks.
A week earlier, bandits had kidnapped dozens of pupils and workers of Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State.
The abductees were released on Saturday.
Bandits had also last December kidnapped over 300 schoolboys from Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State.
The state government which had earlier expressed optimism that the girls would return soon, however, refused to either confirm or deny the rumours that it reached a truce with the abductors concerning their release.

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The Police say they have started a coordinated search-and-rescue operation for the 300 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara, Abducted by gunmen on Friday.

The Force Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, made the statement on Friday in Abuja.

Mba said the search-and-rescue operation, involving the deployment of both ground and aerial assets, was aimed at locating and rescuing the students.

He said the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, had ordered the immediate deployment of two operational surveillance helicopters to Zamfara.

He added that the deployment was a reinforcement for personnel of “Operation Puff Adder II’’ earlier deployed in the state.

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Mba said the move was to support the Police Command in Zamfara to combat banditry, kidnapping and other related crimes.

The police spokesman said Adamu condemned the barbaric and callous abduction of the innocent female students.

He pledged that the police and other security forces would not relent until the abducted students were successfully rescued and reunited with their families.

Mba said the joint rescue operation was being carried out by the police, the military and other members of the law enforcement community with support from Zamfara State government and other stakeholders.

He called for calm and enjoined the public, particularly the people of Zamfara, not to hesitate in availing the Police and the law enforcement community with useful information that could assist in the rescue of the schoolgirls.

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Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao, has ordered an investigation into the military plane crash that led to the death of seven persons.

The said Air Force plane, a Beechcraft King Air B350i crashed on Sunday while returning to Abuja Airport after reporting engine failure en-route Minna, the Niger State capital.

Confirming the development, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) spokesman, Air Vice Marshal Ibikunle Daramola in a brief communique stated that all seven personnel aboard the craft died in the crash.

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The NAF spokesman further stated that the Chief of Air Staff AVM Oladayo Amao urged the general public to remain calm and await the outcome of the investigation.

The CAS also commiserated with the families of the deceased.

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