Kankara Abduction: Masari Lied; The Boys Are With Boko Haram |The Source

By Adesina Soyooye

This magazine can now confirm a few things on the abducted students of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State.

The claim by the Aminu Masari, Katsina State Governor, that the boys were kidnapped by local bandits is false.

The claim by the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau that the boys were abducted by Boko Haram is true.

Shekau, had in an audio message on Tuesday, said  his group abducted the over 300 students, and that the boys were abducted to stop them from acquiring western education which he said runs contrary to true Islamic beliefs.

But on Wednesday, the Governor had denounced Shekau’s claims, insisting that the students were abducted by local bandits.

On Thursday, as proof, Shekau released photographs of the weary, nervous and bloodied(some of them) boys in his custody. One of the boys was frantically pleading with the Government to negotiate with the group for their release.

Flowing from the above, we can confirm that it is doubtful, as disclosed by Masari, that his government was discussing with the abductors, through the Myetti Allah.

What has been confirmed from the release of the photograph is that contrary to the claims by the Government that security agents have pinpointed where the students were kept, and surrounded the area, perhaps, nobody knows exactly where the boys are.

Since the abduction of the students, there has been one claim or the other of their whereabouts. While the State Government claim they are in a forest in Zamfara, another claim say Sambisa forest, while a third claim insist it is a forest between between Nigeria and Niger Republic.

A couple of days ago, the Minister for Defence, Bashir Magashi, allegedly, assured the release of the students within hours.

This will not be the first time students will be kidnapped by the terrorist group.

The sect had kidnapped students from Dapchi who they released a few days later, except the only Christian captive, Leah Shaibu for, allegedly, not renouncing the Christian Religion for Islamic Religion.

During the Goodluck Jonathan Government Administration, the sect kidnapped students from Chibok. While a number of them were later released after negotiations, many of them still remain in captive.

That abduction gave birth to   #Bring Back Our Girls. Now, it is: #BringBackOurBoys!

Recall that the students were abducted from their school on the day President Muhammadu Buhari, a Katsina indigene arrived the state on a private visit.

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, described the incident as a slap on President Buhari’s face.