All the abducted students are alive – Katsina state governor, Aminu Masari, says

TRACKING____Katsina state governor, Aminu Masari, has dismissed reports that two of the abducted students of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, in the state had died.

There have been reports that one of the boys who escaped from the bandits had shared the story of how two of his classmates died in the hands of their abductors who stormed their school on the night of Friday, December 11, and abducted over 300 of them.

However, speaking in an interview on Channels TV on Wednesday, December 16, Governor Masari said the abducted students are alive.

”The children are alive and we have not received any report that anyone had fallen sick. So we assume that all is well with the children.

I was in touch with at least two of the students that escaped on Saturday. I was also in touch on Monday with two that came back.

With the four that have been reunited with their families, none of them reported any of the students died.”Governor Masari said

When asked who was responsible for the abduction of the students, the governor said based on security reports at his disposal, bandits were responsible for the incident.

“The reports we have and from the information available to us, this abduction was conducted, executed by the local bandits that are known to all of us. I am not discountenancing any foreign (connivance) either ISWAP or Boko Haram indirectly working with the bandits.

For over one year, there are signs that some of the elements of the bandits are making contacts with some of the elements of the Boko Haram,” he said

On Monday, December 14, Boko Haram released a video in which its factional leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the abduction. Read here.