After four months in captivity bandits free 28 Yauri students, two teachers

Twenty-eight students and two teachers of the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, were on Wednesday released by a notorious bandit, Dogo Gide, after days of waiting for the victims’ relatives.

According to reports, the victims were among those abducted four months ago after gunmen overpowered security men on guard at the school located in a remote part of Kebbi State.

Reports emerged last week about the release of the students, following interviews with some parents who were set to reunite with the abductees, however, it later emerged that the victims were not released as the process could not be perfected due to the inability of mediators to meet with the kingpin.

It was gathered that as of Sunday, two students and two teachers – a male and a female – were brought out from the forests and received by security personnel and medics stationed at Kotonkoro town, near the bandits-infested forests.

“From Kotonkoro, they will be taken to Kontagora, before they are transported tomorrow (this morning) to Birnin Kebbi,” a source was quoted to have said.

Another source was quoted to have said the freed students and teachers might likely be brought to Minna, the Niger State capital, and then to Abuja before they would be taken to the Kebbi State capital.

READ ALSO: Suspected bandits bomb Kaduna-Abuja train, Shehu Sani alleges

It was learnt that 32 more victims were being held by Gide, while six of the abducted persons were earlier released by the bandits in two batches as part of negotiations for the victims’ release.

The latest efforts to get more victims out of the bandits’ den met bottlenecks after mediators failed to meet Gide when they travelled to retrieve the abductees.

Gide was said to have gone on a mission against another bandits’ leader, Daminu, who was said had attacked and killed four of his men.

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