DEVELOPING STORY… Teacher says 550 girls missing, after gunmen invaded Jangebe school

Contrary to the earlier figure of 300 given as the number of female students abducted by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents from the Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Talata Mafara local government area of Zamfara State, a teacher in the school says about 550 students were kidnapped in the raid.

The teacher, who pleaded for anonymity, said there were 600 girls in the hostels at the time of the invasion by the terrorists but 50 of them were left behind during the abduction which occurred in the early hours of Friday.

The teacher said parents of the students who escaped the abduction, began besieging the school as early as 5am to take away their daughters, adding that some mothers of the kidnapped girls were slumping on the school premises.

“Initially, the school authorities prevented them from going with the remaining students but they grew angrier and began to pull down doors and windows of the buildings in the school and the school authority had to yield to their demands.

“When the gunmen laid siege, they attacked the soldiers stationed in the community before they gained entry into the school.

“Some people told us that they stationed vehicles at the outskirts of the school. Security operatives and the local vigilante groups are trailing the gunmen and dozens of other residents have volunteered to take part in the search,” the teacher said.

However, the Zamfara State Government has said the number of students abducted from the school is still unknown.

READ ALSO: Bandits reportedly abduct 300 schoolgirls from Zamfara school

In a statement, the Commissioner of Information in the state, Alhaji Sulaiman Tunau Anka, said the exact number of abducted students is yet to be ascertained as the government is still trying to determine the exact figure.

“We are yet to verify the exact number of students kidnapped. Security operatives have launched a manhunt for the criminals.

“They went to the school with vehicles. Some of the girls were made to trek. We are on top of the situations as all contacts and efforts are being made to rescue the kidnapped schoolgirls,” he said.

The abduction of the students is coming a few hours after the state government announced that some repentant terrorists had surrendered their arms after the state Governor Bello Matawalle pushed for a dialogue with them for peace to reign

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