An abducted student of Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Mando, Kaduna State, has narrated how five of the 39 students were released from captivity.
Francis Paul, a 200 Level Student of Agriculture Technology at the institution, who was one of the freed victims, reunited with their families on Wednesday, said the bandits released them voluntarily.
He said:
“One afternoon, they (the bandits) came and started selecting us… I was very ill that day. So, they asked me to sit aside and they added some girls and put us on motorbikes. They dropped us at a village close to the main road and said we should walk towards the road and we did,” he said.
This narrative, however contradicts the claims of the Nigerian Army’s statement which claimed that its troops “recovered five of the students”, who spent over three weeks in captivity.
Earlier, Kaduna State government said the army informed them, that they had rescued five students, but did not give details of how the students were recovered, it stated that they were undergoing medical check-up at a military facility.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, Brig. Gen. Yerima Mohammed, Army Spokesman, unveiled the identities of the “recovered students”, and showered encomiums on the troops.
“The rescued students are currently receiving medical attention in a military facility in Kaduna. The GOC 1 Division, Maj Gen DH Ali-Keffi has commended the troops for their effort and charged them not to rest on their oars until all kidnap victims are rescued and returned to their families,” he had said while giving the impression that the military rescued the students.
The interview from one of the rescued students, however contradicts the Army’s statement.
