Four abducted female students of Zamfara college freed — after 24 hours in captivity

Four abducted students of College of Health Science and Technology in Tsafe area of Zamfara state have regained their freedom.

TheCable had reported how bandits abducted five female students of the college, when they invaded a private hostel situated outside the school campus, on Wednesday.

One of the victims escaped from the bandits while they were being taken away.

Speaking with TheCable, Mohammed Shehu, Zamfara police spokesman, on Friday, said the four abducted students have been released.

The police spokesperson was silent on whether ransom was paid to secure the release of the students.

“It is true, the four abducted students have regained their freedom, medically checked, debriefed by the police and reunited with their families,” Shehu said in a text message sent to TheCable.

“We are not aware of any ransom paid.”

Recently, schools have become soft targets for gunmen — with many students especially in the northern part of the country abducted.

Some of the abducted students were later released by the bandits after negotiations.

As part of efforts to curb the menace, schools were closed down in some of the affected states.

On Thursday, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said security challenges in the country have affected the education of 1.3 million children in less than two years.

The UN body added that since December 2020, a total of 11,536 schools have been closed owing to abductions and security concerns.