Our children were not sexually molested by bandits —Parents of rescued Afaka students

Parents of the recently rescued students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna State, have debunked reports that their children were sexually molested by the bandits who kidnapped them on March 12.

Reacting to the news that the students were assaulted, the parents who jointly issued a statement on Sunday, said that none of the 37 kidnapped students was sexually or homosexually molested by the bandits.

The Chairman of the Afaka Kidnapped Parents Forum, Abdullahi Usman, who signed the statement, called on Nigerians to disregard the story and continue to pray for the students as they continue with the rehabilitation of their children.

Usman added that the students even narrated how one of the bandits lost his life when he attempted to molest one of the female students while in captivity.

The statement reads:

“While we were basking in the joy of having reunited with our precious children, who were released unharmed after 56 gruesome days in captivity, our attention was drawn to a May 11, 2021, error-ridden online publications to the effect that an unidentified parent of one of the 27 students released on May 5, speaking on the condition of anonymity, had disclosed that the students, both male and female, were sexually, homosexually molested by the bandits while in captivity.

”Other online media outlets also published the self-same report. On behalf of parents of the Forum of the 37 abducted students (now released), we wish to set the records straight and hope that this will end the circulation of the fabrication which the story is.

Read also: Abducted Afaka students reunite with their families

”We state in unequivocal terms that none of the 37 kidnapped (now freed) Afaka students was sexually or homosexually molested by the bandits.

“In fact, by divine providence, according to the testimony of all the released students, one bandit lost his life on the mere mention of the desire to sexually molest a student.

“To be sure, the students confessed that ‘he didn’t even actually attempt it; he was just saying it, and yet he was killed and we were asked to take his corpse and deposit it in a nearby bush because they said he was not worthy of a proper burial.’

“As parents of the released students, our primary focus now is the rehabilitation of our treasures whom God has brought back to us alive and miraculously unharmed.

”Distractions such as occasioned by this false report, purportedly a revelation by an anonymous parent, is unfortunate and irresponsible and should be retracted as it does nothing but aggravate the trauma we and our released children are working hard to overcome.

“We wish to call on Nigerians who stood by us from the time our children were abducted to the date the last 27 were released, to disregard the story and continue to pray for us as we continue with the rehabilitation of our children, so they may get back to normal life again very soon.”

By Isaac Dachen…

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now