Eight female students of Government Secondary School, Awon in Kaduna have escaped their captors two weeks after they were abducted.
The female students were seized by an armed gang on their way from school along with an unknown number of others, authorities said on April 4.
Samuel Aruwan, the Kaduna commissioner for internal security and home affairs, said the students escaped from a forest between Kaduna and neighbouring Niger state and walked for days before being found by some villagers.
They were taken to a military facility in the state to receive medical attention.
“The eight female students of Government Secondary School, Awon – who were kidnapped by terrorists on Monday 3rd April 2023 in the Awon general area of Kachia LGA – have escaped from the terrorists’ den,” Aruwan said in a statement.
“The students, according to preliminary briefings, escaped from a thick forest around the Kaduna – Niger interstate boundaries, and walked for days before arriving at a location (kept undisclosed for security reasons) where they were harboured.
The state government added that human intelligence sources subsequently alerted the Kaduna State Government for immediate evacuation.
“Governor Nasir El-Rufai on receipt of the intelligence directed MISHA to liaise with the 1 Division Nigerian Army for urgent evacuation of the students, as it was credibly gathered that the terrorists were combing forests in the area to recapture the students.
“The students have been safely evacuated to a military facility where they are presently receiving medical attention,” Aruwan said.
