Officials confirm 136 students abducted from Nigeria school
Lagos, Jun 3: Authorities have confirmed that 136 students were abducted by gunmen in northern Nigeria earlier this week, including some as young as 5 years old, the school's owner said Thursday.
Gunmen on motorcycles targeted Salihu Tanko Islamic School on Sunday, killing one person and abducting three teachers as well, school owner Umar Idris told The Associated Press.
Idris said the number could be higher, though, because school officials have not been able to reach all of the parents to confirm whether their children are back home.
We have sent out a message asking parents who have not yet reported to the school to do so, Idris said, adding that three teachers also were kidnapped.
Other preschoolers were left behind as they could not keep pace when the gunmen hurriedly moved those abducted into the forest.
The 11 children were mainly aged between 3 and 4 and they lacked the stamina to keep pace with the gunmen, so they were abandoned on the way, Idris said, adding that the preschoolers were found hours after the attack.
The school's pupils range in age between 3 and 14, and parents are concerned that some of the youngest kidnapping victims may be unable to survive in the forest.
Gunmen have abducted hundreds of students in northern Nigeria this year, and the government has been unable to halt the spate of abductions for ransom. As a result, many schools have been forced to close due to the concerns about the kidnapping risk.
Earlier this week, 14 students and staff from Greenfield University in Kaduna state were released after spending more than a month in captivity. The gunmen who demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom had earlier killed five other students to compel the students' parents to raise the money.
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GBA razes down 400 houses in Yelahanka, minority families including Muslims worst affected
Bengaluru: In an incident reported from the state capital, more than 3,000 people living in Fakir Colony of the Kogilu Layout near Yelahanka were rendered homeless by the officials of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Saturday.
The officials, who said the 400 houses were constructed on encroached land, held the operation using nine tractors and nine earthmovers, razing down the houses.
They have ousted around 90 per cent of the families who had been living in the area for more than 30 years and belong to minority communities, including Muslims from the colony.
The bereaved residents have insisted that the government had provided them land in the locality to build houses and reside. “We have all official documents as well as Aadhaar cards and voter IDs as proofs. Our source of livelihood is only manual labour,” they added.
“Many of the families had mortgaged the houses to get loans from banks, but the GBA officials have razed our houses without giving any prior notice,” they said and added, “Some of the women here are pregnant, but the officers showed no concern for such people too.”
Referring to the title deeds, the residents said that the local representatives had assured them that they would be handed the documents. “So far, however, we were not told to vacate the houses. Since the houses were unexpectedly razed, our children’s documents and other valuables in the houses have been destroyed,” the residents added angrily.
They also expressed fury about representatives failing to come to their help in times of need. “They come here only to campaign and get our votes. When questioned about the propriety of destroying the houses, the police officers assaulted us,” some of them said.
Sara Saif Saufique, one of the residents in the Fakir Colony, said, “My family has been living here for three decades, but has unexpectedly lost the house since the officers did not give us notice. They came at around 4:30 am on Saturday, when we were sleeping, and started destroying the houses.”
She said with fury, further, “The officials also forcibly evicted us from the houses, without even permitting us to gather our winterwear or blankets.”
