Kankara Abduction: One Year After

Exactly a year ago, hundreds of families were plunged into fear and uncertainty after the shocking news of the abduction of over 300 students from an all-boys boarding school broke. 

The young boys were snatched from their school by dozens of armed men in an operation reported to have taken place over a span of an hour.

Shockingly, for the whole of the time spent, there was no single intervention from any of the security agencies in Kankara town located at the outskirts of Katsina.

The crime sparked global outrage amidst the growing insecurity in Nigeria and particularly so, because it happened at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari was visiting Katsina, his home state. 

While some of the students managed to escape, about 340 others were freed six days after the government and security personnel negotiated their release from the bandits.

Kankara boys after their release from captivity

A relative of one of the boys spoke with AllNews Nigeria about how the victim of the December 11 attack has been faring since the incident occurred.

Mustapha Abdulkareem said his younger brother, Aliyu Abdulkareem, was among the students kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara.

Aliyu Abdulkareem was only in Junior Secondary School 2 when he was taken forcefully by the gunmen.

Narrating what happened after the school children were released, Mustapha said; "The government gathered them for medical check up because of the possible things that might have happened to them while in captivity.

"They were returned home after certifying that nothing traumatic happened to them. I know that some of the children said they don't want to go back to school."

It was further gathered from Mustapha that the school has remained locked ever since the incident occurred. The pupils were told to change school to Science and Technical School, Musawa, Katsina. 

"That is where they have been taken to," he said.

At some point, it looked like the school was about to reopen, however, because of the incessant activities of bandits in the area, the process of reopening was halted.
 
Speaking more about the traumatic experience, Mustapha said that his brother was definitely shaken by the event but has since recovered from it. 

"When the boys were first informed they would be relocated to another school, most of them including Aliyu protested against it, saying they do not wish to go back.

"But you know the bond between parents and children, father and children generally. After a while, my parents were able to convince him and he was taken there.

"The school they were taken to has security, there is no problem there at all, they are not facing any problems. They are studying peacefully," Mustapha said.

AllNews Nigeria attempted to speak with the Principal of Government Science School Kankara but he declined to speak with members of the press. He directed the correspondent to the Executive Secretary of Katsina State Minister of Education.

All attempts made to speak with the Executive Secretary also proved abortive. It was gathered subsequently that the ministry was mourning the death of a commissioner in the state.
 
Interestingly, months after the incident, one Auwalun Daudawa, who is the alleged mastermind behind the kidnap, surrendered to local authorities in an amnesty deal.

Mastermind behind the Kankara abduction, Auwalun DaudawaDaudawa surrendered his weapons along with six of his gang members and swore by the Holy Quran not to revert to his old ways.

Sometime in April this year, barely four days after repenting from his old ways, Daudawa was shot dead during a gun duel with a rival gang at Dumburum forest located between Zamfara and Katsina States.

The repentant bandit was reportedly killed while leading a revenge attack on boys loyal to another bandit, Ballolo.

Quite sadly, nothing seems to have changed about the security architecture in Nigeria. She still battles daily with the menace of bandits and terrorists.

Additional reporting by Aisha Ahmed.